Persona 4 Golden: The Butterfly Effects
by TheAlmightyDork
Summary: The next year was one of pure terror to JoJo. She had to deal with a new school, other teens, exams, and a psychopathic killer. Friends were something she always wanted, but never had the guts to find. But a mysterious supernatural threat terrorizing the small town of Inaba will make the girl face her fears, before everyone around her is consumed by the darkness.
1. Chapter 1

How long had it been? Fourteen years? Fifteen? She couldn't remember. She almost didn't believe that the place even existed, never once hearing about it her whole life from what she could recall. But that didn't stop her parents from sending her to that town for the next year.

"_We have to go to America for work,_" they justified, the words replaying in her head, "_and we don't want to make you adjust to a foreign country again. You get so homesick when we leave Japan._"

She shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable in the train-car, her bag containing her personal belongings sitting in her lap. Her nerves were getting the best of her, she wasn't going to lie about that. She barely knew her uncle, not able to ever summon any memory he was in. So she could only pray that the trip would go well, and that she would make a good impression on her distant relative.

"_I hope I won't screw anything up..._" she thought to herself, still shuffling in her seat. Her jacket, a black cardigan, fitted her tightly and constricted her arms. She left it open as any attempt to close it would choke her. Her white button-up shirt was neatly ironed, not a single wrinkle to be spotted. Her black dress pants creaked as she moved, threatening to shred apart after so much as a shimmy. She cursed the dry cleaners that let her clothing shrink, and herself for not raising a fuss about it.

"_They still charged me full price too..._"

The thought brought a bitter taste to her tongue. She needed to get a spine! This was not the first time that someone had walked all over her, and it wasn't making her feel any better!

"_Just remember! Be strong. Be assertive!_"

But that was easier said than done. Hindsight always reminded her of those words, but only God would know where they went when she really needed them. She was such a pushover... she hated it!

"_But what can I do?_"

Maybe the trip would help with her meek nature. Her parents told her that her uncle was a detective, so maybe he would give her some tips on being aggressive. That would certainly help with her...

"_Oh god... I forgot..._"

With her new move meant one thing: a new school. How that detail got overlooked, she would never know. All that came to her mind at the moment was the panic and fear.

"_Oh god! What am I going to do! There's going to be all those people, and teachers, and lockers, and bathrooms! I'll probably end up going into the wrong homeroom and make a fool out of myself, which is going to make everyone hate me and think I'm a weirdo! Maybe I can play sick? No! Not for a whole year! Unless I say it's terminal! I'll say I have cancer or something!_"

The girl's mental barrage of worry and eccentric planning lasted for a full two hours until she somehow willed herself to sleep, the train still barreling down the tracks.

* * *

"_Welcome to the Velvet Room!"_

"_How may we assist you?"_

"_Your future is going to be an exciting one!"_

"_NARUKAMI!"_

* * *

The loud groan of the slowing train awoke the girl from her dream, every detail flowing from her mind like water. The most she could recall was the strange voices, none recognizable or familiar. She could remember blue, but that was it. Not even how it was used, just that it was there somewhere. That, and a strange, bird-like man.

"_Maybe I read too much fantasy lately..._"

Her clothes groaned as she rose from her seat, a few pops making her face go red as she fretted over where they occurred and if she would have to change in the middle of the train; and if such an action would even be legal. Her shoes were the only article of clothing that fit her perfectly, though they were also quite embarrassing. Her black dress shoes were quite small, compared to her large figure that is. She cursed genetics, and how she was plagued with what others have called a 'super-model body'. She was quite tall, around six feet, and had **assets** that had earned her the scorn of many a jealous classmate. That included not only her figure, but her face, which has been compared to royalty by more than one love-struck boy.

A gust of fresh air nearly caused her to collapse as she stepped out of the train, her balance hampered by her tight clothing. She thanked whatever deity would listen that she was alone in the station, apparently the only one to be visiting Inaba. Her long, silver hair flowed in the wind as she carried her small, gray suitcase with her towards the exit.

She spotted her uncle outside, waiting by his car. With him was a small, brown-haired girl wearing a pink dress, who was scolding him for smoking a cigarette. The girl brought a case of doubt to her mind. Her mother had given her a picture of her uncle, but she didn't mention anything about a daughter. Could it be the wrong guy?

"Hey there!" the man called out, noticing the girl standing at the door.

"_Oh thank god, it's him!_" she sighed in relief. If he hadn't shown up by then... she didn't even want to think about it.

The man approached the girl, scanning her with a glare that made her shrivel in fear. The icy-cold gaze made every inch of her turn into water, tearing apart any chance of standing up with pride or dignity whatsoever.

"You look like your choking in that," the man joked, taking a puff from his cigarette. "Is that what city kids are wearing now?"

"N-No!" she nearly shrieked out, somehow finding her voice. "Cl-Clothes... d-dry cleaners! Sh-Shrunk..." Any chance of coherency fell apart as she struggled to look him in the eye. Though they were equal height, maybe even taller than him by a few inches, she felt the middle-aged man tower over her with an authority she could not even fathom. It was like being a child when you first angered your parents, that same icy cold fear flooded her veins and made her go pale.

"You don't have to be so nervous," the man smirked, holding the cigarette in his lips. "You may not remember me, but we've met before. Hell, I changed your diapers as a kid."

"_THAT IS NOT HELPING!_" she calmly thought to herself.

"But, I guess we should introduce ourselves anyway," the man said, extending a hand. "I'm Ryotaro Dojima. Let's see, I'm your mother's younger brother, and that about sums it up."

The girl responded to his outstretched hand with a shaking one, timidly giving him a handshake. A small whimper caught her attention, the small girl Dojima was with was hiding behind his legs. Her face was red with embarrassment, and her gaze always stuck to the ground.

"Oh, right," Dojima said in realization, "this here is my daughter, Nanako." He gave her a small push to her back, tearing her from her hiding spot. "Come on, Nanako! Introduce yourself to your cousin," he said teasingly, getting a surprisingly hard smack to the thigh as an answer.

"H'llo..." was all Nanako said, once again hiding behind her father's legs.

"H-Hi..." the girl said, matching Nanako's meek tone.

"What're you two so shy for?" Dojima asked with a chuckle. "Aren't you even going to ask her her name?" he asked his daughter.

"Wh-What's your name?" Nanako inquired unwillingly, wanting to simply end the discussion as quickly as possible.

"Nar-Narukami..." the girl responded unsurely, noticing Dojima's disapproving sigh.

"You don't need to be so formal," he said with a groan.

"_SHIT! Fix it! Fix it!_" she screamed to herself.

"Jo-JoJo!" she suddenly said, catching the two by surprise. "M-My friends c-call me JoJo..."

"JoJo?" Dojima asked in deadpan. "People still call you that?"

"W-Well my p-parents do," JoJo explained, looking as though she was about to have a heart attack, "a-and then a few pe-people from school found out and it just ki-kind of... stuck."

"Right," Dojima said, dropping his cigarette to the ground and crushing it with his shoe. "Well, let's get going," he turned to the car, "no doubt you want to get into some more... _comfortable _clothes."

JoJo looked to her younger cousin, hearing the little girl repeat her nickname with a small smile on her face. She always hated it herself, but others seemed to like it. She was always too afraid to ask them not to use it, so she grit her teeth and went with it. Even with her own parents. Her clothes still creaked as she walked to the car, hoping that the next year would be peaceful and completely normal.

* * *

"We'll stop here for a bit," Dojima announced, parking the small vehicle at a small gas station in the middle of the shopping district. The Moel sign glowed brightly, even in the sunlight. The three exited the vehicle, taking the opportunity to stretch their muscles, or, in Nanako's case, use the restroom. "You sure you can go by yourself?" Dojima asked in slight worry.

"Uh-huh," was all Nanako said in response.

"Hey there!" a cheery gas attendant called out as he approached the three. His uniform made him look more at home as part of a pit crew for a race track, stains of oil splattered across his shirt an pants. His pale skin glowed with sweat as he fiddled with his cap, his gray hair barely held back by the head-wear. He stank of gasoline, making JoJo feel light-headed as he got closer. The attendant noticed Nanako walking off towards the store, and the uncomfortable look on her face. "The bathrooms are towards the left!" he shouted to Nanako, making sure he could be heard. "Left is the side you don't hold your chopsticks in!"

"I know... geez..." JoJo could hear Nanako's annoyance, the silence around them amplifying any sound. She could only wonder why the attendant was shouting, until she saw headphone wires hidden by the lengths of gray hair that shook as wildly as his nods.

"So you guys taking a trip?" he asked Dojima, who fiddled with the packet of cigarettes in his front pocket.

"No," Dojima answered as he pulled one out, placing it in his mouth, "we just had to pick her up from the station." He gestured to JoJo, who nearly jumped in surprise. "She's visiting."

"Cool!" the attendant said in apparent glee. "A city ch-!"

"Fill up my car," Dojima interrupted sharply, cutting off the employee's train of thought. "Regular's fine."

"Y-Yes sir!" he said, looking into the gaze of the hardened man, and regretting every second of it.

"Good a time as any for a smoke," Dojima said, walking off as he pulled out his lighter. He stationed himself at the sidewalk just outside of the gas station's property, smoking as he shot daggers into the attendant who stood next to his niece.

"God that guy is freaky!" the attendant said in relief, as though he could no longer see the man just a few feet away. "But you're a city kid huh? That's pretty cool!"

Something about the attendant's voice made JoJo question him. She could not even tell what it was or what she was doubting, but it was there. The way he acted just seemed strange, the way he moved, the way he talked, even the way he smiled just creeped her out. Maybe it was the small town hospitality thing, and that she wasn't used to sudden social interaction. Still, she was hoping he would go away soon.

"Guess it must surprise city folk like yourself at how little there is to do here," the attendant said, showing no signs of leaving. "You'll mainly hang out with friends or do part-time jobs," he said with a shrug. JoJo noticed the way he scanned her over, making her go red-faced as she remembered the dilemma her shrunken clothes caused. "You seem pretty young, did you just graduate?" he asked JoJo, who responded by meekly shaking her head.

"I-I'm still a s-second year..." she said, feeling oddly ashamed. The way he looked at her made her self-conscious of pretty much everything about herself. That always happened around other people, even with her own family. Thoughts like '_I'm way too young!_' or '_Stand up straight, you idiot!_' flooded her mind during even the most casual of conversations.

"That's cool," he said, extending a hand. "We'll hire even if you're a student. In fact, I think we're looking for seasonal help anyway. Summer's coming, so a lot of tourists'll be passing through, you know?"

"Th-That's okay!" JoJo politely rejected, though still shaking the man's hand. She couldn't tell whether the sweat was from her or the attendant, but she felt sick at either thought. In fact, she was filling sick all of a sudden...

"_I think someone hit me in the head with a truck or something..._"

A sudden bout of nausea threatened to reveal what she had for breakfast that morning. Her head felt like it was about to explode, and it was getting progressively worse by the moment. The attendant had walked away, nowhere to be seen, which was getting harder to do as her vision became fuzzy.

"Hey..." she could hear Nanako's small voice, fear and worry clearly building up. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine...!" JoJo tried to reassure her cousin, but it seemed to have the opposite effect.

"You don't look so good..." Nanako took her cousin's hand as JoJo slid to the ground, unable to stand properly.

"I'm... alright..." JoJo lost any chance of underwhelming her condition as she slowly slipped into unconsciousness, her head feeling like an abused war drum. The most she could hear before passing out were the sudden footsteps of Dojima as he rushed towards them.

* * *

_Fog. That was all she could see. Nothing but fog for what seemed like miles around. The ground was the only thing she could see clearly, it being a strange tiled path that stretched deep into the thick haze. Her breaths were getting shorter as the fog seemed to fill her lungs. The pounding in her head returned with a vengeance, it tearing her down to her knees. She clutched her aching skull, trying to will the pain away._

"_So you wish to find the truth?" a powerful voice called out to her._

"_Wh-Where am I!? What the hell is thi-!?"_

"_Then go and catch it!" the voice interrupted, ripping the words from her throat. The powerful boom sent shivers down her back. _

"_Catch what!? What the **f-f-FUCK **is going on!?" JoJo threw her hands over her mouth. She promised to never swear, but she was sure that it would be okay is this circumstance! _

"_Awaken, child of man," a different voice called, this one calming. Thought it was just as powerful, something about it made her feel calm. She felt safe with that voice, much more so than the other. _

"_You must awaken."_

* * *

JoJo's eyes slowly slid open, her surroundings blurry and incomprehensible. Her head felt like Thor smashed his hammer against her skull, and it was only made worse by the sudden light. The sound of the ceiling fan was like a machine gun that threatened to deafen her. She scanned the room at a turtle's pace, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. It was a simple guest room. A television stand was next to the futon she laid on. She also took note of the couch and table parallel to the television, and of the work-desk in the corner. JoJo found it hard to take in any details, her eyes feeling heavy and empty. She simply lacked any energy to even focus her vision. The click of the door exploded in her head, causing her to wince in pain. The heavy footsteps didn't make it any better.

"Oh good," Dojima said, approaching the resting teen, "you're awake." His tone showed that he tried to keep his worry down, masking it with an aura of cool objectiveness. "You really freaked out Nanako when you passed out. She thought you died or something," Dojima said with a chuckle.

"I-I'm..." JoJo tried to say, finding her words sticking in her throat. Her mouth felt like sandpaper, and every time she tried to swallow her saliva she felt like she was about to vomit.

"I just got off the phone with your parents," Dojima cut in, his gaze showing that he was not going to be fooled. He gave a sigh as he rubbed his head. "They chewed me out when I told them what happened."

"S-Sorry..." JoJo managed to say, her voice weak and brittle. She wanted to tell him about the dream, it still weighed on her mind, but she once again lost her voice. Her body was getting heavier by the second, as if a block of lead was laid atop her.

"I'll let you get some sleep," Dojima said as he turned towards the door. "You've got school tomorrow."

His steps still thundered in her head as the man left the girl alone, allowing her to be consumed by the silence. Even the clicking of the cheap wall-clock was unable to pierce her eardrums, simply leaving her in an aura of nothing.

"_School..._"

She could not deny that she was afraid. How could she? New people. New teachers. New classes. All of that just made her stomach go cold. She still remembered her old school, despite trying not to. Once again she let herself sink into the corner, never talking to anyone. That didn't stop a few wanna be idols from trying to talk to her. She was never rude to them, but that would be hard to do considering that she never spoke a single word to them. Entire school years would pass where she wouldn't say a single sentence. She would say "Here!" for attendance, or give a terse answer to a question, but that would be about it.

"_Hopefully I can change that this year._"

She promised herself that much, at least.

* * *

The steps creaked and groaned as JoJo made her way down them, making her feel self-conscious regarding her weight. Finding her way around the house was easy then she expected, having just woken up in it the previous night. Though getting to the bathroom was less easy, much to her frustration. Her new uniform, a black sailor suit and skirt with yellow bow, fit her like a glove, adding some respite from the bathroom hassle. Her black uniform shoes clacked against the tile flooring as she entered the main floor of the small home. The kitchen was small, only taking a corner that the rest of the living room overshadowed. The simple furnishings gave off the impression that the residents were only truly interested in keeping the house clean in regards to aesthetics. Dust on various tables and shelves made JoJo sneeze upon sight, only succeeding in spreading more in the air.

"Oh," a small voice caught her attention, "good morning."

JoJo turned to see Nanako sit at the dinner table that intersected between the living room and the kitchen, a banquet of toast and eggs displayed before her. The smell made JoJo's stomach grumble, reminding her that she needed to eat breakfast. Her plan was to simply rush to school as fast as possible, but the aroma taunted her mercilessly. Before she could even think anything else, she was sitting at the table, a fork and knife digging into a sunny-side-up egg.

"Did you make these?" JoJo asked, hunger outweighing her timid nature. She didn't catch so much as a glimpse of Dojima whatsoever when she woke up, and the food looked freshly made.

"Uh-huh," Nanako answered, a proud smile on her face. "I only know how to make eggs and toast, but I've gotten really good at them!" JoJo's continued feast confirmed the little girl's boast. "Hey, you're starting school today, right?"

"O-Oh... y-yeah," JoJo said, her breakfast seemingly interrupted. All of the confidence she once had vanished, retreating back into her shell.

"We should walk together!" Nanako offered cheerfully, not noticing her cousin's discomfort. "My school's on the same route as you, so I can show you how to get to yours!"

"S-Sure...?" JoJo said, unsure of how to respond. The way Nanako said it seemed to imply that she was going to lead her no matter if JoJo declined the offer or not.

"Okay!" Nanako said excitedly, humming a strange tune to herself. To JoJo, it sounded like one you would hear from a cheesy commercial. Despite that, Nanako repeated to hum the tune over and over again.

"_That tune is kind of catchy._"

That thought was quickly extinguished by the time the two had left the house and made it to the floodplains. By that point, JoJo was just about ready to shove skewers into her ears to never be able to hear that damned song ever again! Of course, she never so much as made a peep to Nanako, who was still humming away in pure innocence.

"Okay," Nanako began, stopping suddenly in the street as other high school passed them by. The rain pelted their umbrellas mercilessly, the sounds nearly drowning out the river flowing next to them. "Your school is that way," she said while pointing ahead of her, in the direction the other teenaged students were going. She turned around in a complete one-eighty, pointing in that direction instead. "My school's back over this way. Goodbye!" Nanako walked off, unknowingly leaving JoJo standing in the rain.

"_Crap! I have to get moving!_"

JoJo wasted no time in picking up her pace, practically sprinting in the direction that Nanako indicated earlier. The other high schoolers watched curiously as the unfamiliar girl rushed towards the place they knew and despised.

* * *

"_I can't be late!_"

That thought replayed over and over in her head. Despite it not even being the first day, she was already worried about running behind schedule. Her feet were moving a mile a minute, splashing rain with every step. She wasn't far from where Nanako and her separated, and she was already gasping for air. JoJo snapped at herself for not exercising more, but decided to push the thought away until later.

Mainly because she crashed into someone.

It all happened within a few seconds, but time seemed to slow to a crawl. The droplets of rain looked like clear, beautiful pearls that she could reach out and grab. The puddle exploded as she fell in, drenching her back with water. Though it felt like ice water, she could not keep her face from going hot with embarrassment. It wasn't even the first day, and she already made an idiot of herself. With her luck, she probably crashed into some kind of Yakuza member that will decapitate her the minute she makes eye contact.

"Hey, missy! Watch where you're going!" a loud and arrogant voice screeched at her.

What she got was much worse.

"Don't you know who I am!?" The voice demanded, JoJo looked up to see a girl wearing far too much make up and carrying an extravagant umbrella. Her dark, blonde hair looked nearly orange, which emphasized the bright pink lipstick and blush that made her look less like the student her uniform implied and more like a prostitute.

"I-I'm sor-!" JoJo tried to apologize, getting to her feet only to have the aggressive girl stick her face centimeters from her own.

"The name is Ai Ebihara! And you better learn it quick if you want me to shake off this little stunt you pulled!" Ai threatened, pulling out a small, jeweled pocket mirror and inspecting her makeup. "What if I fell in a puddle, huh? My makeup would be ruined! And you could say the same for your school year _if I felt merciful_!" The death glare Ai gave JoJo shook all hope of escape away without a single shred of hope to get it back.

"I-I'm really sorry!" JoJo blurted out in a panic, unable to keep herself from begging. "I-I'm new, and I was afraid that I'd be late, so I started running, and I didn't see you, and then-!"

"Guh, you're all the same!" Ai declared in disgust. One of her well-manicured hands shot to JoJo's well-endowed chest, making her victim go bright red. "You get a good pair of tits and think acting cute and shy will make the world bend over backwards for you." Ai released JoJo's chest, though the girl was still petrified by the experience. "Get out of my sight before you make me any more annoy-" Ai would have continued her threat had JoJo not left the minute she was ordered to.

* * *

"_That woman was crazy!_" JoJo screamed to herself, once again running down the street to her new school. She prayed she would never have to associate with Ebihara again. Of course, it was probably inevitable. It seemed like a small town, so she would probably see Ai on the street or in class, though it would not be due to a lack of trying.

"WATCH OUT!" another voice called out before crashing into a set of nearby trashcans. His headphones blasted out some pop song that JoJo could recognize from the new idol Risette, but that thought flew out the window as she watched the brown-haired boy pick himself up off the ground. The detail that now caught her attention was how his hands swung to his genitals, him yelping in pain like a horse on helium. "Oh god! Why there!? Why is it always the same spot!?"

"Ha!" a snarky student said as he walked with his friends. "Looks like Hanamura busted his balls again!"

"_WHAT IS WITH THIS TOWN AND GENITALS!?_"

* * *

_A/N_

This is Mastodon with a new story after being dead for so long. Sorry fans of my other stuff...

Anyway, like I said, I was dead for a bit. :I

So I apologize if I am rusty with this first chapter.

Reasons for that include doing a production of Grease for my local theater with a buddy of mine, looking for a job, and planning a trip to Japan next summer! So yeah, pretty fucking busy for me.

Anyways, you notice the whole story line is essentially a retelling with a female protag. Those always interest me as I like the idea of the butterfly effect, where one small change causes a massive chain reaction. So that's what I went with. You also notice that I already seem to enjoy torturing poor little Narukami, that is because I live by the philosophy of fucking hating your protagonists. That is also the reason why a lot of these retellings disappoint me, as they make Yu/Souji/Professor Dickweed basically be their personal megaphone where they announce to the audience how much of a saint the author is; or how much a douche this character is; or what the _author _would do in that situation (one I read being **calmly explain to Kanji how they were not implying he was gay**** and having it work**). That takes the fun out of it for me. So expect JoJo (I'll explain her name...) to get the shit kicked out of her for your and my amusement.

Now as to why I named her JoJo.

1\. **No**. It is not an unlisted JoJo's Bizarre Adventure crossover. That is simply her nickname.

2\. **Yes**. I got the idea from **watching **JoJo's BA, but **that is it**. No Stands. No Dio (;-;). No Pillar Men. No Broken Engrish.

Now, will this interfere with other stories?:

Probably. (Sorry fans of that FE: Awakening retelling I'm doing.)

Why make JoJo a bombshell?:

1\. I'm a horrible pervert.

2\. Because I wanted to differentiate her from other Femtags that retellings make. A lot of those just make her really slender or petite. Facade I forgave because well... it would fuck with the story. (PS: Check it out, it's pretty damn interesting.)

3\. I'm a terrible pervert.

Why the shy personality?:

I wanted to do something different than the other MC's I've been writing for.

WYINGBTI (super long acronym): Yu is just Yu in a crazier AU.

Only The Young: Robin is a child, which has been more fun to write than I thought it would be.

TSIMTTC (another long acronym): Guts is Guts if he was born and raised in the Persona-verse, with _slight _tendencies to go back to his old ways.

FWTR: Robin is Robin, but just really _really _stupid.

Be Kind! Rewind!: Yu is a germaphobe with essentially the Terror Mask from Splatterhouse as his Persona. (Magatsu-Izanagi)

So I wanted to try something different from... well... _all of those._

But I'm gonna wrap this up for now. Here's hoping I get to write more of this, because I'm having fun with it!


	2. Chapter 2

JoJo could feel the eyes of her new classmates drill through her as she stood in front of the class. The teacher, a buck-toothed man in a tacky suit, walked into class immediately after she did. While her demeanor was of fear and apprehension, his was filled with malice and annoyance.

"Awright," the teacher barked at the class, "everybody, shut your traps!"

The pure volume he used made JoJo flinch, and to the point that she wondered if he ever received a noise complaint from neighboring classes.

"My name is Kinshiro Morooka," he said, pointing a thumb at his chest. "You kids have the satisfaction of my company as your homeroom teacher this year."

Groans of protest broke out amongst the students in the small classroom. The stench of the wooden floor made JoJo feel light-headed, almost making her wobble in place. The curious gazes of the fellow high schoolers only made the nauseous feeling in her stomach worse. It took only a few seconds for her to regret breakfast that morning.

"Now, since I hate wasting time, I guess I should introduce this transfer student here," Morooka said, spitting venom with every syllable. "This loser's been dumped out here like yesterday's garbage, so you guys better not get any funny ideas!"

A tense silence filled the classroom as Morooka scanned the room for something JoJo could not determine. A cough broke the silence, though it was quickly devoured once again by the empty atmosphere.

"_Oh_, I get it!" Morooka shouted, anger, and gravel, in his voice. "You're in a rebellious phase!" The man's cruel stare focused on a very confused JoJo.

"_W-Was I supposed to say something...?_"

"Well listen here, princess!" Morooka's face turned bright red as he raised his voice. "You're on my shitlist, effective immediately! You're gonna learn that this place is far away from the perverts and assholes of the city!" He slammed a hand on his desk, startling the entire room. "I'll keep all you little bastards as pure as the driven snow, you hear me!?"

"Excuse me!" a brown haired girl in a green jacket interrupted the teacher's rant with a well-timed raise of her hand. Though it was a simple gesture, JoJo saw the spunky looking peer as Albert Einstein and Jesus rolled into one being with a dash of Mother Theresa. "Can the transfer student sit here?" she asked, motioning to the empty desk to her left.

"Huh?" Morooka responded, unsure of the request as his rant was cut short. "Oh, sure." One of his bony arms shot up, pointing to the desk in question. "You hear that? That's your seat."

JoJo barely mustered a thought by the time she sat down, not wanting to enrage her teacher further.

"He's the worst, huh?" her brown-haired savior whispered to her, a playful smirk on her face. JoJo, feeling herself slide into her own personal shell, could only give a shaky nod in response. The girl giggled before turning her attention back to Morooka, who was ranting about the degradation of behavior among teenagers.

* * *

The lesson was surprisingly short, feeling like an hour at most. JoJo could scarcely believe it when she noticed how quickly the time sped by, and less so when she saw her new classmates pack up their things.

"Normal lectures start tomorrow," Morooka spat out, noticing the time for himself.

"_**Attention,**_" the muffled, static voice of the announcement speaker began, "_**There has been an incident near the school grounds. All teachers report to the main office immediately. No student is to leave until notified otherwise.**_"

"You heard that!" Morooka said as he walked towards the classroom door. "Any of you dipshits try to leave without our say-so is **expelled**! Got it!?"

"_How can that man yell so much...?_" JoJo wondered. She was sure that he would have torn his vocal cords to ribbons by that point, yet he always managed to bark like an enraged banshee.

"Hey, Yukiko," she heard the girl in green call out to another girl dressed in red. She wore a red sweater over her uniform that clashed with her long, jet-black hair. Her facial features could only be described by the word 'beautiful', not a single flaw to be seen whatsoever; not even a pimple or wrinkle. "What do you think that was about? It seemed pretty sudden to make an announcement like that out of nowhere..." the girl in green said, a finger placed on her chin.

"I have no idea," 'Yukiko' said, clutching her schoolbag to herself. "I just hope it wasn't anything serious."

"Oh yeah!" the girl in green said, quickly turning from her apparent friend to JoJo, who was curiously watching the exchange. "I'm Chie Satonaka!" she said, nearly shouting. She extended her hand to the new girl in front of her, waiting for one in return.

"O-Oh!" JoJo squeaked in surprise, not expecting 'Chie' to throw so much energy out for an introduction. A timid "He-Hello..." was all she could only answer back, shaking the girl's hand with about as much force as a feather.

"I guess King Moron shook you up pretty bad," Chie giggled playfully, getting up from her seat. "Don't worry, you'll get used to him eventually."

"I-I hope so," JoJo said, also rising from her seat. She couldn't keep her hand from shaking as she retrieved the simple, black notebook she was using for notes about the lecture.

"Anyway," Chie began, "I noticed that you didn't even get 'introduced' before King Moron started barking. So what's your name?"

"M-My name?" JoJo asked in reflex, getting an enthusiastic nod from Chie in response. "It's..." JoJo looked away for a fraction of a second. Her eye darted away for a mere moment before refocusing on Chie, who was starting to notice the awkward pause. "Jo-JoJo... Ca-Call me JoJo."

"Okay," Chie gave a small smile towards her new acquaintance, and turned her head towards 'Yukiko', who was waiting patiently behind her green-wearing friend. "This is Yukiko Amagi."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Yukiko said, giving a polite bow. The sudden formality made JoJo go into a panic. Had she forgotten to bow when meeting Chie? Was Yukiko going to scold her for forgetting something like that?

"Yukiko, don't be so uptight!" Chie said while giving a small pout. "You're making me look like I had no upbringing..."

"H-Hey..." a familiar, brown-haired boy said as he approached Chie. His face looked as though he was about to enter the range of a firing squad, which was supported by his pathetic whimpers. His hands clutched what looked like the box to a DVD case. "This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see..." Quicker than a bolt of lightning, the boy bent his body ninety-degrees, sticking the DVD case out in front of him. "And... I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please have mercy until my next paycheck!" The boy all but shoved the case into Chie's hands before trying to run out of the classroom.

"Stop right there! What did you do to my DVD!?" Chie chased after the boy, quickly catching up to him and disabling him with a well-placed kick to his crotch. So well-placed that JoJo was half convinced that the boy was now a girl, which his shrieks helped bolster the theory. Chie opened the DVD case before giving a horrified wail of her own. "I can't believe this! It's completely cracked!" Another pained bellow crossed her lips as she dropped to her knees. "My Trial of the Dragon...!"

"I think mine's cracked too..." the boy groaned out, his hands against his bruised testicles. "C-Critical hit to the nads..."

"A-Are you alright?" Yukiko asked, seeing that the boy needed medical attention. Though she was never on the receiving end of them, she knew of how powerful Chie's legs could be. More than once, Chie would make her watch as she tested out a 'new move' she came up with. The sessions usually ended with either a melon of some kind, or a piece of wood, being completely unrecognizable after a mere kick.

"Oh, Yukiko-san," the boy said with a sly grin, implying things that made JoJo want to kick him herself, "are you worried about me?"

"He's fine!" Chie declared, storming off with a vengeful look in her eye.

Yukiko and JoJo merely nodded to each other before walking off together, trying to keep up with the angered Chie.

* * *

As the three made their way through the school gate, a strange boy approached them. He had black, empty eyes that looked more like dots than pupils. His uniform was unfamiliar, meaning that he was from another school.

"Hey," the boy began, his voice sounding cold and almost _wrong;_ he seemed more like a robot than a human being, "you're Yuki, right? Y-You want to go hang out somewhere?"

"What?" Yukiko asked in confusion. She felt an ominous presence from the boy in front of her, as though a single misplaced word would set him off. "Who are you?"

Other students gathered around the three, saying something about an 'Amagi Challenge'. Though it seemed to happen often, the fact it has a term confirming it, JoJo's nerves refused to calm. She felt a ball of ice in her stomach, sending chills down her spine. Something was very _very _wrong with the boy in front of them.

"Come _on_," the boy said, trying to be more intimidating by deepening his voice, "let's go hang out somewhere..."

"Back off!" Chie said, jumping to her friend's aide. "You're being a freak!"

"Come on," the boy said, ignoring Chie. "Let's go, Yukiko." He slowly reached out towards Yukiko.

It happened before anyone could react. No one could even recall her doing it. They could only stare in astonishment as JoJo held the boy up by his collar, a scowl on her face. She was easily at least half a foot taller, nearly towering over the unstable student. She said no words, no threats, she didn't even blink. She merely kept her grip tight on his uniform collar, which he desperately clawed at to free himself.

"Wha-What're you doing, you crazy bitch!?" the boy shouted in panic, seeing JoJo's eyes. Something about her gray pupils made him nearly freeze in terror, yet he couldn't keep himself from trying to run. It was like looking into the eyes of a ghost as it approached, feeling the paralyzing fear while trying any way possible to make your legs work. "L-Let me go!"

JoJo kept her grip tight with one hand, but removed another. The newly-freed hand inched its way towards the boy's throat, closing tightly against it. The crowd could only watch as the boy began to gasp for air, feeling the hand clench tighter. He felt his wind pipe close like a hose with a truck parked on top of it.

"JoJo, I think that's good...!" Chie began nervously, seeing the boy's face turn blue.

The grip only tightened, JoJo's eyes going wide with some animalistic urge overpowering her senses. She watched as the boy's face became a dark purple, his hands desperately trying to pull her off of his throat.

"JoJo!" Chie yelled, trying to snap some sense into her.

It had no affect as the boy continued to gasp for air.

"JOJO!" Chie shouted at full force.

"H-Huh?" JoJo said, snapping out of her strange state. She went wide-eyed at the sight of the boy that was choking to death due to _her hand around his throat_. "O-Oh my God!" She immediately dropped the boy to the ground, hearing his desperate gasps as he picked himself up off the ground.

"Yo-You'll regret that...!" the boy declared, seemingly to the entire crowd. His empty eyes scanned around him, a panicked look on his face. He bolted off running, shouting "Fine!" as he was carried by his legs.

The air around them felt heavy, like a thick paste replaced the atmosphere. Every breath seemed to take an eternity, entire seconds turning into centuries. No one knew how to react to the situation. No one could even describe what the situation _was_.

"Man..." Chie began, shattering the tension, "what was all that about?"

"What did he want from me...?" Yukiko asked aloud, the question almost feeling rhetorical.

"What did he want?" Chie asked sarcastically. "Obviously, he was asking you out on a date."

"Huh? Really?" Yukiko asked in stunned disbelief.

"You really had no clue?" Chie put a hand to her head, "Sheesh..." Her eyes darted to JoJo, who was shaking like a leaf. "Then again, that was way over the top. It was creepy how he started calling you 'Yuki' all of a sudden."

Suddenly, the brown-haired student from before approached them, his bicycle in tow.

"Yo, Yukiko-san, turned down another love-lorn fool, huh?" he asked casually. JoJo sighed as she realized that he must have been a friend of theirs. She'd rather not repeat the events with the weird kid. "Man, you're cruel... You got me the same way last year."

"I don't recall ever doing that," Yukiko said, a finger on her chin.

"Whoa, you serious!?" the boy exclaimed, seeing a proverbial shot, and taking it. "So then, you wanna hang out sometime?"

"I'd rather not..." Yukiko said, shaking her head in disapproval.

"That'll teach me to get my hopes up..." the boy then turned his attention to JoJo, who was watching the exchange like a hawk, ready to strike. "On the plus side, looks like you have an extra bodyguard for any attempts of the Amagi Challenge. Don't pick on her too much!" he said as he rode away, laughing.

"We're just curious, that's all!" Chie declared, her tone offended and aggravated.

"U-Um, I'm sorry to drag you into this..." Yukiko meekly apologized to JoJo, who seemed even worse.

"O-Oh!" JoJo nearly shouted, her eyes wide in panic. "I-It's nothing! I-I just s-saw that he was go-gonna grab you, and you looked sc-scared, and so I-I just wa-wanted to scare him away..."

"Uh, guys..." Chie interjected, piercing her way into the conversation. "We should go, everybody's staring..."

The three made their way out of the school's property, trying to ignore the audience that were audibly having a field day regarding what had just happened.

* * *

"Ah, so you moved here due to your parents' jobs," Chie gave a seemingly nervous laugh, "Haha, I thought it was something way more serious."

"Why would it need to be serious?" JoJo asked curiously, turning her head to the fumbling Chie.

"There really is nothing here, huh?" Chie asked out of nowhere, clearly changing the subject, "That's what makes it nice, but there is nothing much we can show people from outside," Chie stretched her arms as she pondered anything worthy of mention, "Though, there is Mt. Yasomagi... I think our dyed clothes or pottery or something is kinda famous." Chie scratched her head as she tried to think of any other noteworthy place Inaba had. A large smile grew on her face as she remembered one, "Oh! And there's the Amagi Inn! Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!"

"Huh? It's... just an old inn," Yukiko showed a clear lack of interest in her family's business.

"No way, it's been in all sortsa magazines as a hidden treasure," Chie argued, trying to keep the inn's reputation up, "It's a great inn! It's been going for generations, and Yukiko here is going to take over someday!" Chie sounded as if she was Yukiko's mother, bragging about her child's future to some other parent to make hers sound better than theirs, "Their inn actually attracts a lot of visitors to Inaba. It pretty much keeps this town going."

"... I don't think that's entirely true," Yukiko said in an attempt to make the inn seem more humble than Chie's description.

"So, tell us a little about yourself, JoJo," Chie said, once again changing the subject out of nowhere, "Like, what kind of music do you like?"

"U-Um..." JoJo fell over herself as she tried to piece together what she should say. There was no way she could be honest with them, it would be far too embarrassing. They would think she was weird, and stop talking to her, or even tell everyone in school about it! She could never show her face in public again... "I l-like... Risette?"

"_There. People like her, right? She's still a thing? As long as no one knows about-GAH! Stop thinking about it!_"

"Huh, Risette?" Chie repeated, trying to confirm the answer, "You never really struck me as a pop fan."

"O-Oh r-really?" JoJo laughed shakily, "Wh-What did you think I'd say?"

"Not really sure," Chie shrugged, "Just not that."

"Hey, what's that?" Yukiko asked, catching the attention of the two.

* * *

_A/N_

Hello all, this is me again. I know all you fans of this must be disappointed at the surprisingly short length of this... all, like, two of you. But I really _really _tried with this one. For one, I had to remember what the dialogue for this segment of the game was (I let a buddy of mine borrow my Vita, so I have no Golden as a reference). That's why 90% of the dialogue in this is made up, but following the general script of what happened. That, and I got a new phone. Meaning one thing, fucking freemium apps. Now, I'm smart enough not to spend money on them, but I literally spent **three hours **playing fucking Clash of Clans.

Add all that with multiple blackouts due to the shitty weather where I live (_**Thanks Kentucky...**_) and you get the recipe for a mentally drained, frustrated, bored, and very irritable Mastodon. Though, I did manage to check out The Raid: Redemption, and the sequel. So I feel better now that I've seen some ass kicking. :3

Now, I'm still trying to pin down how I want JoJo to be, and I think I found a good thing for her; the whole 'shy girl' thing. And you notice the whole thing with the music? That will play a factor in more ways than you think. Just know that JoJo is less pop, more Titanium or Steel, maybe a bit of Mercury. What do all those have in common? Answer, and you get a shout out next chapter... and a picture of a zucchini I found on the street, no joke. :l

***DISCLAIMER***

**You will not get the zucchini picture. But yes, I literally found a picture of a zucchini in the parking lot of the Best Buy my buddy works at.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Sometime in the Past..._

"_Everybody," a cruel, high-pitched, girl's voice called out, "look at JoJo! She's reading her weird books again!" _

_JoJo could only shrink down as the school's designated female bully, Eriko Arisato, continued her teasing. The small, child-like girl looked out of place in the upper-middle-school class, where the students were already developing into teenagers. Despite this, she somehow became an icon to be feared for the female student body, and focused her venom on the impressively developing JoJo. _

_The classroom was filled with the chatter of other students, curious to see the drama unfold before them. The desks were quickly emptied as they crowded around the smirking Eriko, and the mortified JoJo._

"_Pl-Please, can you n-not pick on me today?" JoJo begged, trying to hide behind her book. "M-My brother just sent me this one, and I-I really want to finish it..."_

"_What kind of freak likes that stuff anyway!?" Eriko shouted out, bile contaminating every syllable. "I mean, shouldn't girls be reading fashion magazines instead? A true lady wouldn't be caught dead with something like that!"_

"_B-But..." JoJo whimpered out, trying to decide if she should run or not, "m-my brother and I-I like this series a lot..."_

"_Then you two are weird!" Eriko continued tearing down JoJo's esteem. "I bet you dissect animals, or hang out at graveyards, you freak!"_

_JoJo couldn't take it any longer. In a blink of an eye, she was out of the door, crying profusely all the way. She didn't even go back for her school books, or the one she was reading. The sounds of her wailing echoed through the halls as the audience watched the small bully strut off with pride, feeling accomplished for attacking her target. _

_They looked at the cover to the book, seeing the image of a large, armored man in black, armed with various medieval weapons; the manga Berserk._

* * *

**Present Day**

The three girls could only stare at the crime scene before them, the police and townsfolk skittering about like insects in a panic. The sounds of the police cars nearly deafened them, being too used to the quiet atmosphere the town naturally had. The gossip from the housewives told them all they needed to know.

A dead body had been found hanging from an antenna.

"Wha-!?" Chie practically jumped in surprise, "Dead body!?"

A familiar figure made his way through the crowd as he noticed the trio. The heavy stench of cigarettes followed him like cologne as his uniform shoes clacked against the pavement. His grizzled eyes took in the sight before him, and his chest heaved out a heavy sigh.

"Hey," Dojima called, approaching the girls, "what are you doing here?"

"Di-Did something happen?" JoJo asked with the confidence of a guppy with social anxiety. They could practically hear her knees clacking together in fear.

"Sorry, I can't really say any details," Dojima admitted, rubbing his exhausted eyes, "but you three should get home. No interruptions."

"You know this guy...?" Chie asked in wonderment, eying the detective, then jumping to JoJo, then back to Dojima.

"Yeah," Dojima began, "I'm Ryotaro Dojima. Her guardian for the year." Dojima looked away for a second, trying to find the words to say. "I guess I can't really put it any other way, but I hope you guys get along with her."

A blue-suited, young man charged from the crowd, his hands clawing his mouth closed. It wasn't until he reached a nearby bush that the sounds of vomiting flooded the air, nearly making the mob sick. His pitiful moans and whimpers made everyone regret the day a doctor claimed he was male, or even a human being.

"Adachi, what the hell's wrong with you!?" Dojima barked out, completely snapping his tone into an abusive drill sergeant. His teeth ground together as he tried to hold back the worst 'criticisms' of the younger man. "You want to get sent back to the office!? Get your ass over here!"

"So-Sorry, boss!" the man pleaded out, sprinting back to the crime scene. His heavy gasps were worse than his whimpers. How a man like him earned a job like detective baffled the trio, watching the scene play out like a bad comedy.

"But I'm serious," Dojima said, shifting back to the girls as Adachi ran out of sight, "you three head straight back to your houses for now. It's gonna be chaotic with our guys running around, so you shouldn't be on the streets for now." Dojima concluded the conversation with a simple turn and walk back to the yellow crime tape, leaving the teens still baffled.

"Hey, Yukiko," Chie said, finally finding her voice, "how about we go to Junes some other time?"

"Right," Yukiko said, her head shaking like an earthquake as she nodded, "good idea."

"We'll see you later, JoJo!" Chie called as she jogged towards her house, waving a hand. Yukiko walked off calmly in the other direction, also giving a wave of her hand.

"_I should get home too,_" JoJo thought to herself. She knew the story would be on the news soon, and Nanako would probably see it and get scared. Though, if she were being honest, it frightened her too... She was fine with characters in fiction dying, but real-life was... well... **real-life**! A real corpse showing up was not part of her plans for the trip! She expected embarrassing stories from when she was little, or to stress out over tests and trying to make friends. Not dead bodies!

"_Please may this just be a freak accident..._"

* * *

JoJo sat with Nanako in the living room, watching television. Just as she feared, the news played the story about the corpse. The newscasters bickered back and forth about how the police couldn't tell whether it was an accident or a homicide, the effectiveness of the police, or about how the body was placed in a ritualistic manner. Most of it completely phased past JoJo, who was completely disinterested, but made Nanako visibly shiver in fright. Small whimpers escaped her lips as the story went on, continuously becoming less and less about the facts of the case and more about the casters' opinions.

"I guess dad's not coming home tonight..." Nanako said in disappointment, listening to the news relay the information found by the police. The standard info came out, that they found the body on the roof, and that the police are still gathering evidence.

"I-It'll be alright," JoJo said, trying to wear a smile, "he's tough for an old man."

"I know," Nanako sighed, not even chuckling at the teen's attempt at a joke, "that's his job, so this stuff happens."

The news continued broadcasting the story, saying that the police haven't ruled it as an accident or a homicide. That, and a thick fog is slowing down their progress, so updates may be far between.

"_Fog? That seems kinda familiar..._"

"**At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day! Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!**" the cheery commercial blasted out, tearing the bleak tone to shreds and replacing it with a disturbing colorfulness that made JoJo want to gag. "**Every day's great at your Junes~!**" it ended in a song cheesy enough to attract rats.

"Every day's great at your Junes~!" Nanako sang along with a bright grin on her face, and looking to JoJo expectantly.

"E-Every d-day's great a-at yo-your Junes~?" JoJo choked out, falling over herself trying to recreate the song her cousin seemed to have fallen in love with. Despite the abysmal performance, Nanako giggled with glee.

"You memorized it already?" Nanako asked with stars in her eyes, "I'm the best one in my class!"

"Th-That's good," JoJo fumbled awkwardly, trying to start a conversation with the small child (which seemed shameful, now that she thought about it), "I-I'm not much of a si-singer, s-so you already beat me..."

"Were we having a contest...?" Nanako asked in confusion, misinterpreting her cousin's words.

"N-No!" JoJo shrieked desperately, going red-faced at how badly she was bombing the conversation, "I-I was just saying that I'm not a good singer, so you're no doubt better than me... heh..."

"_God... Please kill me..._"

"Okay, thanks!" Nanako said happily, turning back to the television and humming the Junes song repeatedly.

"I-I'm gonna go to sleep," JoJo said as she rose to her feet.

"Good night," Nanako said simply, watching JoJo in curiosity.

* * *

JoJo tried to keep her thoughts together as she walked to school. Though she kept up a 'brave face' for Nanako (the irony was apparent to her, thank you), she could not deny how terrified she was at the idea of the incident being a murder. The thought that someone could be walking around town killing people was enough to make her bowels turn to water, and then to ice.

"_M-Maybe that was just the news chasing ratings again!? Th-That happens all the time. Clearly, it was just a freak accident, nothing else!_"

A loud noise tore her from her thoughts, and her shoes. By the time she reached the ground again, the sounds of a young man begging for help flooded the air. The flailing legs brought her attention to the trashcan rolling around on the ground, where the sounds were coming from.

"He-Help me!" he pleaded with anyone with an extreme enough lack of luck to cross his path.

"_I'm already running late enough as it is..._"

Still. The pitiful sight before her was enough to rival those abused animal commercials with that song. In the end, the begging won her over. She decided that a few minutes wasn't enough to kill her... or was it? …. Now she was regretting her decision.

Nevertheless, her hands gripped the trashcan and tugged hard, releasing the boy from his prison. He fell hard on the ground, shaking his head to remove the trash stuck in his spiky, brown hair.

"You're a lifesaver!" he said in between gasps. "Thanks, um... JoJo, right? The transfer from yesterday?"

"Y-Yes!" she blurted out, her nerves nearly shutting down with anxiety. "Um, are you okay?"

The kid needed a few moments to comprehend the situation. A girl was actually _**not**_ immediately calling him a douchebag and was legitimately worried about him!? Was this some kind of prank!? "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine..." he said as he gave a nod. He got to his feet, finally noticing the girl's height. More so, how he barely got to her shoulders. What a shot to the man-hood...

"S-So..." JoJo said, annoyance sliding into her tone as she got inexplicably angry at how he seemed to stare at her, "what's your name?"

"Yosuke Hanamura," he said, extending a hand, which was crushed by the girl's grip as he did not cease the staring. The sounds of twigs snapping filled the air as Yosuke tried to pry his hand out of the death grip, but to no avail.

"A-Anyway," JoJo said, finally releasing his hand, "I need to go. I'll be late soon if I don't hurry."

"W-Wait!" Yosuke called out, clutching his hand against his chest and waiting for the pain to go away. "I might as well ride with you on the way," he offered, getting on the yellow bicycle that fell on the ground when he was trapped in the garbage. He put on his classic "ladies' man" smirk as he rode along side JoJo, who was getting visibly frustrated.

"Wh-What do you want from me?" JoJo asked, resisting the urge to put him back in the can. She was surprised at how well Yosuke was at getting under her skin. Usually, she sat back and took whatever kind of abuse her classmates dished out, but this time she felt herself wanting to change Yosuke's face with her fists until she was happy.

"I just want to know how a girl like yourself is feeling after that story on the news last night," Yosuke said in an attempt to be suave. He could only kick himself for getting that desperate. Seriously? Using a dead chick to hit on a girl? He might as well just say that he has a cool van with no windows she could ride in...

"To be honest," JoJo began, much to Yosuke's surprise, "it's really freaky. I mean, they haven't said that it was-***gulp*-**mur-murder, but come on, what else could it b-be?"

"You think it was some kind of warning?" Yosuke offered, his tone losing the cheesy edge he added.

"I-I don't know what to think," JoJo admitted, clutching her school bag closer to herself. "Not yet, at least."

"Crap!" Yosuke screamed out, looking at his watch in shock. "We're gonna be late!"

"_Does everyone here have ADHD or something...?_"

"You want a ride?" Yosuke said, looking at his bike, then JoJo. "It's squeaky, but it's fine."

"Ar-Are you sure?" JoJo asked nervously. She could only pray to whatever deity of whatever faith that what she knew would happen wouldn't happen. Yosuke confirmed her fears with a nod.

"_Please... Not again..._"

* * *

The two managed to make it to the school mere moments before the gate closed. Though, they would have made it earlier if not for a certain... well. There was a reason JoJo hates bikes.

They entered the classroom and took their seats, Yosuke looking to the floor in shame while JoJo's face mimicked a Red Dwarf. Even Morooka's worst rants couldn't make JoJo feel worse than she did right then. That hill never felt longer than on that damned bike... probably because it barely moved.

"All right, you idiots, quiet down!" Morooka shouted as he entered the classroom. His suit looked just as tacky and tattered as the day before. It was almost as though he slept in the same clothes everyday.

"_I don't even care anymore..._" JoJo wailed in her thoughts. She hated genetics... and her slight weakness for sweets. But mostly bikes. Bikes suck.

"You guys **are **in high school, right!?" Morooka spat, his face going red in rage. "Can't you shut up during class? Don't you have any common sense?"

"_I mean, I've only been taking a small pastry or two lately... I don't __**look **__fat, so maybe..._" the rant flew over JoJo's head as she continued her depreciating train of thought.

"First of all, my job is to teach you assholes philosophy," he continued. "And since I'm so nice..."

"_M-My scale isn't breaking is it!? Oh God... maybe __**I'm **__breaking it!_"

"I'll straighten up your rotten attitudes while I'm at it! Aren't you honored!?" Morooka bellowed out, waving a bony finger to the class. "And I'll be going especially hard on any morons that're interested in the murder, got it!? Now get your books out!"

JoJo could only sit in silent misery, regretting every snack cake she had ever eaten. It was only a matter of time now...

...

JoJo had not repaired from her state by the time class was over. Which mostly consisted of Morooka screaming and assuming that people were listening. She couldn't even remember what subject they were learning. Wasn't it math or something?

Yosuke approached her desk as the class was released, a shameful expression on his face.

"So..." he started off unsurely, "you getting used to this place?"

"Yes," JoJo answered quickly, still paralyzed with embarrassment.

"Wow, that was fast!" Yosuke chuckled nervously, rubbing his neck. "There isn't much to do here compared to the city, but there is that certain... something you can't get anywhere else."

"Yes," JoJo answered again, clearly not listening.

"Uh..." Yosuke searched desperately for a hook. "H-Hey, how about I make up for the bike thing? You ever have the local delicacy? It's grilled steak, man! Like that's anything special, right?"

The empty gaze of JoJo was the only response he got. It seemed that maybe the bike-ride was a bad idea, but how could he have known that she weighed a ton of bricks!? He could only pray that he didn't break her.

"I-I know a place where we can get it cheap!" Yosuke continued, sounding like a begging child. "Wanna come? It'll be on me!"

"What about me, huh?" Chie said as she approached the two, noticing JoJo's Thousand Yard Stare. "What's wrong with her?"

"Something I am trying to fix, you leech!" Yosuke shouted in desperation.

"_My 'Trial of the Dragon'_," Chie grinded through her teeth, showing that her inclusion was non-negotiable. Her cracking knuckles did the same.

"Why do you always come around when I talk about food...?" Yosuke sighed to himself, trying to ease a growing migraine.

Chie turned to Yukiko, who was packing up to leave, "How about it, Yukiko? Don't you think he should treat us too?"

"I'll pass..." Yukiko politely declined, shaking her head. "I don't want to gain anymore weight. I need to help out at the inn anyway..."

"Wow, Amagi-san!" Yosuke said, clearly impressed. "You started training to take over the business?"

"It's not like that," Yukiko said, averting her eyes from the trio. "I'm just helping out at the inn when it gets busy... Well, I should be on my way." With that, she left the classroom, completely out of sight in a matter of moments.

"That girl..." Chie sighed, sounding like a scolding mother. "If you don't force her to do anything, she'll coop herself up. That weight thing's gotta be a new excuse."

"Yeah," Yosuke agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, she's clearly not fat-"

"WHO SAID I WAS FAT!?" JoJo shrieked out, her state returning to lucid. Her eyes contained a hell-fire only known to those who traveled the dark abyss itself and lived to tell the tale, but were driven irreparably mad.

"Wh-Whoa!" Yosuke screamed, jumping back in shock. "C-Calm down, dude! We were just talking about-!"

"Shut up, let's go!" JoJo continued her rampage, dragging Chie and Yosuke by the collar out the door.

While Chie was trying to use her eyelids to send a Morse-code 'SOS' to any terrified classmate nearby, Yosuke was merely lamenting at spending more money.

"Do I seriously have to treat two people!?"

* * *

"Hey, what gives!? This isn't steak!"

Chie whined, poking her takoyaki in disappointment, though she did eat it. A displeased frown colored her face the whole time.

"Well, once you hopped on the freeloader train, I had to change my plans," Yosuke said, sitting himself down in one of the cheap plastic chairs that littered the Junes foodcourt where they now ate. "Take it or leave it."

"You didn't have to take us to your place though," Chie said between bites, occasionally stealing a glace of JoJo, who was eating her steak in anger. She was still pretty pissed when Yosuke led them to Junes.

"Your place?" JoJo asked Yosuke, an expression like a torturer right before a water-boarding.

"Oh... right," Yosuke realized, "I haven't told you yet. I moved here from another city about six months back." The ice-cold glare of JoJo drilled through his feeble little soul. Where was that cute, shy chick that morning? The scary, murderous looking girl in front of him was enough to drain the color from his face! "M-My dad was assigned to manage it. So our whole family came out here. What's your story?"

A few moments past before JoJo mumbled something between bites of steak. Somehow, she looked calmer than she did a moment before. Though they couldn't quite make out what she said.

"What was that?" Chie said. Despite knowing why JoJo moved to Inaba, she felt like the story she gave them was really vague. So any chance to pry for details was one worth taking.

"M-My daddy had to go work overseas, and my mother went with him," she said, now back to her usual, meek self. Her face went red as she continued. "My br-brother lives in America, so I don't get to talk to him much."

"Huh," Chie said, looking around the foodcourt. "It's only been half a year since this place opened up, and I haven't been to the Shopping District much since," Chie stretched in her chair. "A lot of shops started closing down, and... oh..."

"You can't blame it all on Junes, can you?" Yosuke sighed, falling back in his chair. It wasn't until he noticed a young woman further back in the food court, wearing an employee apron, that he brightened up.

"Hey, it's Saki-senpai!"

* * *

_A/N_

Holy fuck, what happened to me, huh? Well I'll tell you.

1\. MY BASEMENT KEPT FUCKING FLOODING!

2\. I HAD TO WATCH DOUCHEBAG KIDS FOR A WEEK!

3\. I COMPLETELY FORGOT HOW TO DO THIS CHAPTER!

4\. I HAD TO BUY THE ORIGINAL PERSONA 4, SO NO GOLDEN STUFF UNLESS I CAN GET MY VITA BACK AND DECIDE TO INCLUDE IT!

5\. I KEPT PLAYING DARK SOULS INSTEAD!

6\. I FOUND OUT THAT I MAY HAVE A DAUGHTER! (I MAY OR MAY NOT EXPLAIN IT, BUT IT'S A FUCKING LONG STORY!)

7\. I HAD TO PIN DOWN WHAT CHARACTER JOJO IS!

There we go. :3

Okay, about the daughter thing. I dated this one chick who went to my college for about a month (Japanese, because I have a fetish for Asian women), and she just called me to say that she had a kid, and that I **may **be related in some way. Problem is, she moved back after she got her degree in... whatever the fuck it was, I was shit-faced 90% through, like most college dudes. So yeah... that's a thing.

...

I really see no way that I am able to talk about this chapter after dropping that bomb. It's like trying to watch Clerks after seeing the Columbine Massacre take place. No matter what mental state you're in, you're never really gonna be in the mood.


	4. Chapter 4

The two girls watched as Yosuke approached the exhausted looking employee, flustering over himself as he stepped closer. The girl held her head in her hands, her eyes covered with her palms and taking heavy breaths every few moments. Despite her clear frustrated state, she wore a smile as she noticed the teen beside her chair.

"Is that Yosuke's girlfriend?" JoJo asked, nibbling on her food while watching the scene. Chie gave a short snort before chuckling to herself.

"He wishes!" Chie said mockingly, a teasing grin on her face. "That's Saki Konishi. Her family runs the liquor store down the street, in the shopping district. Looks like she's working here part-time though."

"So... how you doing?" Yosuke asked. "You look beat..."

"Hey!" Saki said weakly, dark bags under her eyes. She looked as though she had never saw a bed in over a year, and sounded the same. "I'm finally on break... What's up, Hana-chan?" Saki shifted her seat, looking at Chie and JoJo, with the latter attempting to hide herself behind her drink cup. "Boosting the family business by bringing your friends here?"

"Madam, you wound me!" Yosuke chuckled nervously, trying to incite a laugh from his crush. "Kidding aside, you look down. Something happen?" He tried to hide the worry in his tone, and failed miserably.

"Oh, it's nothing," Saki reassured him, waving her hand shakily, "just a little tired."

"Hey, if you need to talk, I'm always willing to listen," Yosuke said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm okay, thanks though," Saki chuckled, shaking off Yosuke's shoulder. "Ugh, why did I leave school early yesterday?" Saki rubbed her head once more, taking one last look at the table containing Yosuke's friends. Her main focus set itself on the grey-haired girl with the _assets _the size of her head. "Hey, is that the transfer student?"

Before Yosuke could answer her question, Saki was at the girls' table, already introducing herself.

"Are you the transfer student?" Saki asked, a slight amount of excitement in her voice.

"Uh, y-yes, I-I am," JoJo fumbled awkwardly, her face beet red. The same desire to slide into her shell returned, gnawing at the back of her mind. "Yo-You're Konishi?"

"Oh, so you've heard of me?" Saki asked teasingly, strangely open with the newly met teen. She gestured to Yosuke, who stood next to her, following after she approached the girls. "Must be nice to have another city-kid to talk to, huh? I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with any of the guys much."

"N-Not necessarily..." Yosuke defended himself half-heartedly. Rubbing his neck with a hand.

"He doesn't have too many friends, so I hope you two get along!" Saki laughed as she punched Yosuke in the shoulder. "Hana-chan's a good guy, but he can get nosy sometimes. You gotta tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you."

Yosuke crossed his arms, mumbling to himself. The comment struck a nerve with the head-phone clad teen, that much was clear.

"I-I'm not sure about that," JoJo said, "he seems like a good person."

"Aw~!" Saki giggled to herself. "Don't worry, I'm just kidding."

"C-C'mon, senpai!" Yosuke fell over his words. "There's no need to worry about something like that!"

Saki looked at her small, simple wrist-watch, giving a sigh.

"Well, my break's almost over..." Saki stretched her arms. "Back to work... Later!" Saki took her leave, abandoning the trio.

"Uh, s-senpai!" Yosuke called out desperately. After noticing it was for naught, he sat back down in his chair, his arms crossed in disappointment. "Ha... Senpai says I'm annoying, but she's even nosier than me. She has a younger brother. Guess she sees me the same way..."

"Oh! I get it," Chie teased, a big grin on her face. "So you don't want her treating you like a _brother_, huh?"

"Wh-Wha-!?" Yosuke went pale.

"The daughter of the local store, and the heir to the invading chain!" Chie said melodramatically. She faked a faint, nearly falling out of her chair onto the floor. "The flame of forbidden love!"

"Dude, it's not like that!" Yosuke nearly shouted, his face red with embarrassment.

"Well, I have something for that love-struck heart of yours," Chie said, getting up to pat Yosuke's shoulder. "You ever hear of the Midnight Channel?"

JoJo's interest was peaked. Momentarily pausing her meal to hear the story her new friend had to tell. A fire broke out in her abdomen. She was half-afraid it would set her uniform on fire. Despite this, she felt calm, and focused solely on the green-jacketed girl.

"Well," Chie began, "they say that it only happens if you look into a turned off TV on a rainy night, at exactly midnight. Supposedly, a person appears on the screen. And that person..." she paused for dramatic effect, "is your _soulmate_!"

JoJo and Yosuke were quiet for a few moments. Both digesting the spunky words said by the spunky girl.

"_Wow... That's incredible!_"

"And here I was thinking that you were about to say something useful..." Yosuke dismissed cynically, his face wearing a bitter frown.

"Uh, y-yeah! Th-That was a pretty stupid story, Chie!" JoJo agreed desperately. Her eyes were wide, and cold sweat poured down her face.

"You too, JoJo...?" Chie moaned in depression. And here she was thinking that she snagged them with her supreme story-telling. JoJo could only mouth out a small '_sorry_'.

"But seriously, how can you get excited for such a childish urban legend?" Yosuke continued his nihilistic attack on the story.

"Childish, huh!?" Chie shot back, a sneer on her face. "Let's all try it out and see then!"

"Try it out? So you haven't even confirmed this thing for yourself?" Yosuke said, sounding more like a sleazy lawyer every few words. "But all that aside," he said, changing the subject as the growl from Chie made him close his legs by reflex, "about that 'incident' yesterday... you guys think it was murder?"

"Hopefully not..." JoJo said nervously, fiddling with the straw from her drink. Her thoughts drifted to Nanako and Dojima. He wasn't home most nights, and if there was a murderer lurking around town...

"Ooooo~!" Yosuke booed out, like a cheesy horror movie announcer. "What if the culprit's walking around town right now?"

"Geez," Chie huffed out, "you shouldn't joke about stuff like that. Now who's the immature one...?" JoJo noticed the small shakes in her seat. The murder bothered her, that much was certain. "All I'm saying is that you guys better try it out tonight!"

"I-I'll try it," JoJo answered, quickly glancing to Yosuke. She appreciated the change in subject. That, and she was interested in seeing if it worked. More than likely it was just a hoax. Or, if it was real, it was nowhere near as interesting as the stories say. A light-show, at most.

"Ugh, fine," Yosuke groaned out. "But only because I want to say 'I told you so' to your face when we find out I was right."

* * *

JoJo and Nanako sat in the living room of the Dojima house, enjoying another takeout meal. Well it would be more accurate to say that Nanako was enjoying it. JoJo picked at the shrimp-fried rice with a bitter expression on her face.

"_It's this stuff that caused that... __**problem**__ this morning..._"

"Are you not hungry?" Nanako asked innocently, still eating her meal in naive bliss.

"N-Not really, no," JoJo said. She wasn't exactly lying. But she only felt that way out of fear of what the scale would say the next morning. She saw Nanako was about to speak up, her face determined to give her a lecture. "Did your father call?" JoJo asked sweetly, cutting the child out of her thoughts.

"No..." Nanako said sadly, tears threatening to brim in her eyes. "He always says he will..."

The doorbell seemed like a beacon of light to the child, a bright smile on her face as she saw Dojima walk through the door. JoJo noticed the exhausted state he was in. The dark bags under his eyes were nearly pure black, showing that he probably hadn't slept in days. The stench of coffee, cigarettes, and dried sweat nearly choked the teen, who was thankful that she stopped eating when she did. It was only made worse when he sat on the couch mere inches away from the table the girls sat at. A long sigh erupted from the middle-aged detective.

"How was work?" JoJo asked, worried about the state of her uncle. He looked as though he was only a slip away from death. The new case must have been draining him.

"You don't want to know," Dojima said. He raised a shaky hand as he gestured to the television. "Can you turn on the news?"

A click erupted from the glass box. It showed a trio of news-anchors, all talking about the murder.

"_**And now, a special report about the disturbing case regarding the small, rural town of Yasoinaba.**_" The journalists give their usual 'professional' spill, sounding more like a choir of pod-people. All saying the same thing, and expecting their audience to believe it was normal conversation. "_**More details have been discovered regarding the death of Mayumi Yamano, the young reporter who was found hanging from an antenna in the isolated town. It has been confirmed that she was having an affair with Taro Namatame, the husband of enka singer Misuzu Hiragi.**_"

"_This must be a pretty big deal..._" She knew that murder was a hefty crime to commit, but they were watching a _national _news station. Something must be different about this one.

"_**The police have begun to investigate this relationship, and plan to question anyone involved with the parties involved. In addition, we have an exclusive interview with the one who discovered the body.**_"

"An interview with the kid? The hell did they find her?" Dojima groaned out.

"_**What went through your mind when you saw it? Did you immediately recognize that she was dead? Did you see her face?**_"

"_**U-Uhm...**_" the distorted voice tried to speak, only to be cut off by the reporter firing questions like a machine gun. JoJo thought she could recognize the face, it being edited poorly. She could tell the basic facial features and hair color, and they definitely felt familiar.

"_Is that...?_"

"_**Isn't it scary that somebody was killed on a foggy day?**_"

"_**Huh? She was killed?**_"

"_**Oh, err... so did you see anyone suspicious around the area?**_"

"_**No, not really.**_"

"_**It is said that you left school early that day. Did you have personal business to take care of?**_"

"_**Th-That's-!**_"

JoJo tuned out the rest of the interview. Something about that reporter brought a burning anger to her gut. Fantasies of shoving his microphone in a place it shouldn't go flooded her mind as the interview ended. She only managed to get control of her thoughts minutes later.

"-_**a tragedy that occurred near the local shopping district. Many storeowners are raising concerns that the hysteria will result in profit loss.**_"

"If it does, it's because you're making such a stink about it..." Dojima said bitterly, as though he was one of the anchors on the television.

"_**It really is a bizarre case, isn't it? I mean, hanging someone from an antenna. I say it has to be a sign, like a warning, from the culprit!**_"

The other reporters were quick to speculate.

"_**Yes, but so far no one has taken credit for the crime.**_"

Dojima gave a sigh, long and heavy. The air felt heavier as the man's limits were quickly reached. "Loads of prank calls, though..."

"_**So the cause of death is still unknown? You mean to say that tax dollars are going into a police department that can't even rule out if this is an accident or a homicide?**_"

JoJo's eyes drifted to the floor as she pondered the issue. Clearly it was a homicide, so the idea that the police couldn't even prove it made JoJo go ice cold. Whoever killed the Yamano woman knew what they were doing. That only made JoJo shake worse.

"_**We'll be back after these messages!**_"

The television, in as drastic a shift in tone as making a Holocaust movie that turns into a romantic comedy half way, played a familiar jingle as a beloved advertisement aired.

"_**At Junes, every day is Customer Appreciation Day! Come and get in touch with out products! Everyday's great at your Junes~!**_"

"Everyday's great at your Junes~!" Nanako sang along, forgetting about the horror story the news was telling. "Dad, can we go to Junes?" she asked excitedly. A loud snore tore through the room, nearly shaking the couch he sat on. "He's asleep..." she said, disappointed, "geez..."

JoJo was unsure of what to do. So she did what felt natural.

"I'll take you sometime this week," JoJo offered, a warm smile on her face.

"Ah!" Nanako gasped in excitement, a smile a mile wide on her face. "Really!?"

"Sure," JoJo said, nodding slowly.

JoJo then rose to her feet and went to her room, the stairs creaking with every step. Each groan made her face darken. She had to make some changes...

"_No more take-out..._"

* * *

JoJo paced in her room, killing time until midnight. The pitter-patter of rain barraged the window mercilessly as the clock ticked away without a care. She checked her phone constantly, waiting for the clock to strike twelve. A lightning strike in the background darkened the room, all power knocked out. The only illumination she had was the glow of the streetlight outside. She checked her phone once more. The screen read midnight.

JoJo looked deep into the screen of the television she had on the shelf, seeing her own reflection in the empty glass. She waited for what felt like three eternities, waiting for any change. But it was all for nothing. Not a single thing happened. All she saw was a tired girl standing in the middle of her room in her underwear.

"_I should have known it was too good to be true..._"

Just as she turned her head from the screen, a flicker brought her attention back to the small box.

The TV was on.

The screen was a pale, fuzzy yellow. And a figure stood in the middle of it. Every few seconds it would writhe, almost like it was suffering a pain beyond comprehension. It slowly began to terrify JoJo, who tried to turn off the disturbing video. The body began to contort, snapping violently and randomly. It brought an ache to JoJo's bones, just imagining the pain someone would feel if that happened to them.

"_Oh God..._"

It was nothing like Chie's story. It felt like the girl in the screen was about to reach out and drag her into Hell with it.

JoJo felt light-headed. She could barely keep herself on her feet. The pain in her skull threatened to crush her brain. She stumbled as a thunderous voice perforated her eardrums.

"**I am Thou, and Thou art I!**"

Despite the agony the voice caused, she felt strangely calm. It truly felt as though God was talking with her. A feeling of majesty and terror flooded her body. Her mind felt constricted, like something was blocking it.

"_A girl... shouldn't meet God... in just her bra and panties..._" She giggled as she stumbled forward. The voice gave one last thunderous roar before she fell forward.

"**Thou are the one who opens the door...!**"

JoJo fell into the television, sliding through the screen like water.

* * *

JoJo awoke in an unfamiliar place. All that she could see was fog. Fog, and what looked like a film studio if she squinted hard enough. Metal girders were consumed by a thick, yellow gas that sucked the air from her lungs. Catwalks continued for what looked like miles, sinking into the deep fog.

"_Where am I...?_"

JoJo rose to her feet, feeling as though her entire body was broken. Her face turned bright red as she remembered that she lacked her usual clothing. Her underwear was the only thing hiding her indecency from whatever audience hid in the unseeable distance. Hands quickly flew between her legs and over her chest, trying to hide the gray pieces of cloth she wore.

"H-Hello...?" JoJo whimpered nervously, trying to get any kind of help. She wasn't sure is there was anyone in there besides her, and she wasn't too willing to find out.

Menacing slithers tore through the empty silence. Disgusting, unnatural sounds of ooze flowing across the ground made their ways closer to JoJo, who was paralyzed in fear.

"Wh-Who's out there!?" she squeaked, trying to sound brave.

Black balls of gel materialized from the fog. Each with long, malevolent claws that tore into the weak metallic material as they surrounded the petrified teen. Six orbs of pure toxic, corrupted nature slid towards JoJo. Their shrieks turned JoJo's bowels into ice. The masks the beasts wore only made them more terrifying. The cryptic, disturbing masks shook JoJo to the core.

"_O-Oh God! What are those things!?_"

She couldn't move. Her legs felt like gelatin. Even when the creatures were mere centimeters away.

A sickening, rotting stench choked JoJo. She felt like vomiting. It was like a carcass decomposing in a dumpster during the summer. The feeling of the slime against her skin made the sickening feeling worse. Every lick of the ooze to her flesh made her feel poisoned. She couldn't keep it down. She vomited onto the ground as the orbs absorbed her into one solid mass of slime.

"_I-I'm going to die..._"

She felt the slime pour into her. Through her nose, ears, any where it could fill her, it did. The poison flooded her veins as she felt the slime solidify. The slime turned into concrete, pinning her in her spot. Thoughts of the girl in the video exploded in JoJo's head. She was going to die the same way...

"**Enough!**" a voice from within her exploded in anger. The graveled, powerful voice was much easier to hear when compared to before she arrived in the strange world.

Every blink took longer than the last. Before she knew what was happening, she was on the ground. The malevolent masses were separated once more. But what struck her attention the most was the ethereal figure hovering above her.

It appeared to be a tall, masked man in a long, gray coat. In its gloved claw, it held a long, simple naginata. Its bright, yellow eyes glowed like the sun, piercing through the fog like a lighthouse.

"_Wha... What are you...?_"

The figure turned its head to JoJo. Slowly, methodically, as though it was a statue. The clack of its unshown boots as they clacked against the ground shook the weakened girl. It crouched down to JoJo, its mask nearly touching her face. The sound of its graveled voice was like stone grinding on stone.

"**Do not worry, child of man. You have simply awakened to your power.**"

"_Can... Can you hear my thoughts...?_"

"**Your path will be filled with many hardships. Simply remember this: trust yourself, as well as others. For you will need to control your abilities with caution.**"

"_What abilities?_"

"**I shall show you.**"

The figure put one of its claws on JoJo. She could hear the strange spirit mutter something to itself before a strange warmth spread throughout her body. Energy shot throughout her body. Her eyes turned white, adrenaline pulsing in her nervous system. Strength flooded her core, allowing her to get to her feet.

"_What... What's happening to me!?_" JoJo panicked. The alien sensation threatened to drag her back down to her feet. Her thoughts went a mile a minute. Her skin felt like it was on fire! Power flooded her heart, almost boiling it in her chest.

"**Allow me to handle this, dear child,**" the voice of the figure said, now vanished completely. "**I shall fight. You must rest.**"

JoJo's body rose to the air, several feet above ground. Her limbs refused to listen to her commands. Her eyes rolled back into her skull. One final crack tore through the air as her body snapped forward.

* * *

Teddie wasn't sure what to do. He felt the presence of... _someone _in the world with him. But now he felt two! What was worse was that the Shadows were really agitated for some reason! What was he supposed to do!?

"Oh, man! This is _bear_-y bad!_" _he said to himself. His tiny, bear feet carried him to the source of the second presence. The clank of shifting metal rung in his twitching ears as he made it to the scaffolding. What he saw was nothing less than shocking.

Some girl in her underwear was slaughtering the Shadows!

Oceans of bile flew through the air as the gray-haired intruder ripped through the ink-filled monsters. In her hand was some kind of spear thing that Teddie couldn't recognize. All that he noticed was the... bounciness... of the...

"Wow! Today was a _bear_-y lucky day for little ol' Teddie!"

Teddie decided that getting involved was only going to inconvenience the half-naked warrior in front of him. She clearly could handle it herself.

The sounds of whacks and crunching flooded the air as the girl howled like a beast. The battle lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like hours.

What was left of the Shadows was nothing more than fragments of mask and slime. The stench from before was overpowering. Teddie could barely stay anywhere near that place, but he had to talk with that girl! He needed some answers. Or at the very least he could get her out of there before more Shadows showed up!

"Hey,_"_ Teddie began, approaching the girl, _"_are you alright, miss?_"_

The warrior-woman turned its attention to the small, red and blue bear. Her bright, yellow eyes pierced through Teddie's whole being. He felt like she could see straight into his stuffing!

"You there!**"** the girl called out. Her voice was powerful and loud, shaking Teddie with intimidation. **"**State your business, or else I shall kill you where you stand!**"**

"Ah!_" _Teddie screamed in fear. He tried to run, but the girl was on him before he could turn around. Her weapon jabbed into Teddie's fur, almost cutting into his suit. _"_Pl-Please don't hurt me!_"_

"My name is Izanagi, and you shall come to fear me if you wish to harm my vessel!**"**

* * *

_A/N_

This is Mastodon with an update to a story with a spin that I will have a lot of fun writing. Basically, JoJo is going to have a little... _different _experience when summoning Personas. I think you can thinks whats I ams sayings.

Until next time.


	5. Chapter 5

_She couldn't really tell what was going on. Her vision was blurry, like a fuzz developed in her eyes. It was strange. Nothing was clear. Her head was full of fog. She tried to focus her vision, but it would only get worse. It was a bright light in her skull, blinding her from everything around her. _

"_It's so hard to think..." _

_She wasn't sure if she said that or just thought it. The light absorbed her. It consumed every part. Her arms wouldn't respond to her thoughts, as though they were not even attached. Nothing was. She had no way of comparing the sensation she felt. Was it like a dream? Thought after thought turned into dust in her skull. She could barely remember how she got there. All she knew was that she felt warm. A nice, comforting warmth enveloped her. Every inch felt like it was wrapped into a cloak of comfort. Her eyes teased sleep, drooping down when she let her guard down. _

"_I'm so tired..."_

_A yawn broke the silence she was blissfully unaware of. A small, weak yawn that leeched any last hope of staying awake. The light made her feel so safe. She was safe. It was okay to sleep. She had... something tomorrow? It was so hard to get her head together. She needed to go to sleep. Just a few moments... just a... few..._

"_**No!**" a powerful voice, like pure gravel, boomed in her head._

"_**No matter what happens, you must never let yourself sink into the stream!**"_

_Stream? Was that what she was in? It was so warm though. So... warm..._

"_**You must awaken!**"_

* * *

JoJo's eyes cracked open as she awoke on the bedroom floor. Time slowed to a crawl as her vision adjusted to the light around her. Somehow, it felt... duller than she remembered. The ceiling fan was a blur of gray and black as it spun, mocking her with the nauseating cycle. The sounds of birds and passing citizens as they went about their morning pounded in her eardrums.

Her head felt like an over-filled balloon. Every tiny shake and movement sent tremors throughout her body, making her groan in pain. She definitely had a concussion. The spots in her vision dimmed slowly, but it was a noticeable difference. The pain never stopped though. A drill went through her eye every time she blinked.

"_God... what happened last night?_"

Her hand went to her forehead, feeling a warm, wet sensation. She brought the appendage to her face, seeing the bright red blood coating her palm. The burning came immediately after. Like her head was on fire. The sting only intensified as she got to her feet.

"_I need a bandage or something..._"

The dream the night before tickled the back of her mind. In a way, she was thankful that it wasn't real. But on the other hand, she had no idea what it was about. It felt more like she blacked out than fell asleep. Considering how she bashed her head on the table when she fell back the night before, that theory was more than likely.

The wood floor creaked as she stepped to the bathroom. JoJo's walk was disjointed and uneven. Every step threatened to send her to the floor. One after the other as she made her way. The door was, thankfully, wide open, allowing for an easy detection. Amidst the numerous doors in the small hall, it was easily lost in the crowd otherwise.

The bathroom was simple, all things considered. The tile was bland and colorless. It had a simple bath tub and shower. The sink and drug counter were the only things she really cared about, however. Her hands shot to the small counter, tearing the small doors open and retrieving a small roll of bandages and a small bottle of pain relievers.

Upon looking at her wound in the mirror, it wasn't as bad as she thought. It bled like a stuck pig, but it was a small gash just above her eye. She was still light-headed, and unable to gather her thoughts together. It felt like her body was on auto-pilot. Every movement didn't register with her brain, a numbness across her nerves.

The bleeding stopped almost immediately, the bandages quickly stopping the flow. She tied off only two layers across her head before being finished. She realized that the pills were not even necessary, putting them back onto the shelf. Despite the horror story that was before, she was already feeling better. She removed the bandage slightly, checking the status in the mirror.

"_Benefits of Daddy's genes!_" she smiled in pride. Her wound was completely healed, not even leaving a scar.

The chirp of the birds outside reminded her that she needed to prepare for the day. She would need to tell Chie about that figure she saw the other night. The idea that it made her faint and have that weird dream gave her chills. No. A dream is the wrong term. It was a nightmare, plain and simple.

"_I just need to get my head together._"

* * *

Rain barraged the earth as JoJo walked to school. Her umbrella was the only shield she had against the pattering beads of water threatening to soak her uniform. Gray clouds blanketed the sky and sapped all energy from the teen as she dragged her feet through the street. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the dream she had the previous night. Strangely enough, all details of it escaped her mind. She couldn't even remember what it was about. It was all white noise to her.

"Perfect timing!" Chie called out as she ran under JoJo's umbrella. Due to the latter's stature, she had a difficult time fitting under the figurative port in the storm. Every tiny movement pushed one of the two out into the rain. "Sorry, move over!" Chie tried to apologize as she pushed JoJo close to the event horizon of dryness.

"Why don't you have an umbrella?" JoJo asked as Chie pushed for space once again. She let the green girl take more space to shelter her friend from the rain. A slight dampening began on her right shoulder as Chie took one last push, subjugating JoJo's side to the elements.

"Well, I did," Chie explained, finally getting comfortable in her space, "but I saw this kung-fu movie last night where they used an umbrella to pull of some sweet moves..."

"And you broke it trying to recreate it?" JoJo guessed, a frown growing on her face as her uniform was soaking in the rain.

"Yeah..." Chie said, her head lowered in shame. "Oh! By the way, did you see... _it _last night?" Chie's head popped back up with excitement.

"I... I don't know..." JoJo said with uncertainty. She could barely tell where the night ended and the dream began. For all she knew, the Midnight Channel thing was a hoax and she never saw a figure in the screen.

"Let's talk about it later," Chie offered. JoJo noticed how wide her friend's eyes were. A slight tremor shook the short-haired spunk master every few moments. Something was bothering her. "But we're gonna be late for school!"

A few awkward moments passed as they crossed through the floodplains. Neither could dig up a topic as neither knew what interested each other. Chie was too used to walking with Yukiko, and JoJo only met them two days prior. Every time JoJo glanced at Chie from the corner of her eye, she would catch Chie glancing back before snapping her eyes back in front of her.

"Uh... hey..." Chie trailed off. Her face was bright red as she began, a worried look on her face. "We're standing pretty close together, aren't we? It's... kinda awkward..."

"Why does it matter?" JoJo asked innocently. "We're both girls, aren't we? Isn't it normal for girls to walk to school together?"

"L-Listen," Chie said, ignoring JoJo's words, "I'm just gonna run on ahead." She made good on her statement as she practically sprinted from the umbrella, not leaving a millisecond for JoJo to respond. In the blink of an eye, Chie was gone and out of sight.

"You'll catch a cold..." JoJo squeaked out to herself, hoping that Chie somehow got the message.

* * *

JoJo put up her school supplies as other students talked around her. The day had been overshadowed by a strange, almost corrupted, atmosphere. All that was on everyone's mind was the recent murders.

"What was up with the body being hung upside down like that...?" one female student asked her friend. "That's so freaky!"

"Isn't it kinda mimicking an execution in a way?"

"My senpai told me that it was a third-year named Saki that found the body."

JoJo could only sigh as she filled the lap-top sized binder with the various papers and pencils she used throughout the day. The murder certainly shocked her, along with the rest of the town. No one knew how to even begin to process the idea that a murderer was lurking in town. It was a small, humble place. The people knew each other by name, and recognized each other on the street. It was as if every fantasy of community was made incarnate in the small little region of Inaba. At least, that's what JoJo thought at first.

"Y-Yo... um..." Yosuke stammered over himself as he approached JoJo. His eyes looked tired, dark and bloodshot, and his movements were sluggish. Clearly he had trouble sleeping the previous night. "It's, uh, it's not really important, but..."

"Are you okay?" JoJo asked, sensing a bit of deja vu.

"Well, yesterday, on the TV, I think I saw..." Yosuke trailed off as he lost his words. He had no way of making his next statement not make him look like a delusional whack job. He put a hand to his forehead as he let out a sigh.

"Hey," Chie began as she walked to the two, rain still dripping from her wet jacket, "did you guys hear the rumor?"

"What rumor?" JoJo asked. Didn't they already try out an urban legend? Why was Chie dragging them onto a new thing when they never even discussed the old one?

"Apparently, Konishi-senpai was the one who discovered the body," Chie explained. She let out a yawn, cupping her mouth with a hand.

"Geez, no wonder she looked so down yesterday," Yosuke said, rubbing his neck with a hand. "And she's not here today either..."

The trio noticed Yukiko as she picked up her bag, getting ready to leave the classroom. The tension in the air was broken as they subconsciously agreed to turn the spotlight to their friend in red.

"H-Hey, Yukiko," Chie began, her nerves leaving her frazzled, "you helping out at the inn today too?"

"Things have been really out of hand lately... I'm sorry," Yukiko apologized, thinking she was having to decline another invitation by her friend.

"Oh, don't apologize!" Chie reassured her. "We were just asking, I swear."

"Thanks, Chie," Yukiko said, looking somewhat disheveled compared to usual. With that, she left the classroom, and her friends.

"Is it just me, or does Amagi-san look super stressed lately?" Yosuke wondered aloud.

"They've been crazy busy lately," Chie shrugged. "Guess they've been running her ragged. But more importantly, did you see... _it_... last night?"

Yosuke's eyes went wide, his pupils consumed with white. "Uh... what about you?"

"I did!" Chie confirmed in excitement. "I seriously saw a girl! But... my soul-mate's a girl? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Chie," JoJo said comfortingly, "we are your friends. And we will support you no matter what."

"Wh-What!?" Chie's face turned bright red.

"Anyway!" Yosuke was desperate to change the subject. "I saw a girl too. Her hair was about shoulder length, and looked kinda brown."

"Wait..." Chie had a looked to be pondering the information laid out by Yosuke. "Was she wearing our school's uniform?"

"Yea-Yeah?" Yosuke said, stunned. "How did you know?"

"Because we saw the same girl!" Chie theorized. "But what does that mean? That we have the same soul-mate?"

"What did you see, JoJo?" Yosuke asked, a hopeful look on his face.

"I... I can't really remember. I'm sorry..." JoJo felt a wave of shame hit her. She hoped to be more helpful to her friends. "All I remember is some weird dream I had last night."

"Weird dream?" Chie asked, holding her head up on her desk with her palms.

"Yeah, it was something about my TV trying to eat me..." JoJo's own face went red with embarrassment as the realization of what she just said hit her.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Chie said, brightening up considerably compared to before. "We need to stop off at Junes later."

"_What is with this town and sticking to one subject...?_"

* * *

_A/N_

Holy shit, I am super bad with keeping a schedule. I am sorry, people who like it when I mash buttons on a keyboard and upload it to the internet. And to make it worse, I have _another story_ I'm considering starting. It's this anime I ended up finding and liking. Not telling anyone what it is until I upload a story about it. The only hint you'll get is that it's one of those that I might end up in jail for. Also! I have a Twitter account now. Please bug me there. I need something to do.

Until next time.


	6. Chapter 6

The electronic hum of the fluorescent lights gave JoJo a slight migraine. This was only made worse by the mass of audio being blared out by all the televisions at once on the shelves. The barrage to her eardrums was enough to force a hand to her temple, trying to stave off the urge to break the very, _very _loud noise boxes blasting that same commercial with the girl in the bikini. JoJo hated that girl. Mainly because that diet drink she advertised didn't work at all...

"_I want my money back..._"

"Yo, JoJo," Chie called to her. Her hands were stuffed in her green jacket as she scanned each of the display televisions for something to pop out to her. "Do you know anything about T.V.s? Like, how they work and stuff like that?"

"No," JoJo answered simply, shaking her head to confirm it. "I don't really know anything about technology. That stuff always seemed like magic to me."

"Aww~!" Chie whined, kicking the ground with a foot. "I'm the exact same! And the only one around here with any clue wants me to shill out my soul for one these things."

"Come on, they're not _that _expensive," Yosuke defended. He patted one of the display televisions with a hand, giving a sly, wolfish grin. "And for this super low price," he handed her a price tag, "it can be all yours!"

"Wha-!" Chie nearly choked on her words. Her brow furrowed in anger as she threw the price tag back at him. "That is, like, **five **zeros too many!"

"How much was it?" JoJo asked curiously, picking up the price tag from the ground. She studied it as Chie shot daggers at Yosuke.

"It doesn't matter," Yosuke said in defeat. "Apparently Chie can't afford anything that was built in this decade, so-"

"Oh, is that it?" JoJo pondered curiously, a shocked look on her face. She reached inside of her uniform and retrieved a tiny, black wallet.

"Wait, what?" Chie and Yosuke said in unison.

The two could only stare in wonder as JoJo sifted through her various business, debit, and credit cards. She was humming that same Junes theme that Nanako sang all the time.

"_Okay, I'm starting to like it._"

She finally pulled out a jet-black card, and handed it to Yosuke, who was still in shock at what he had just seen. There was no way she could really afford the thing! It was a goof, had to be. Or she had a shopping problem, which means he couldn't ring it up due to his morals. It was all one big joke! Who knew JoJo had a sense of humor! That explained a lot. Like why her hair was going inside the T.V.-

"YOUR HAIR IS INSIDE THE T.V.!" Chie screamed, panicking the three of them.

It was true. JoJo's long, flowing, gray locks were being absorbed into the large television beside them, which was the root of the argument to begin with. JoJo's large stature was quickly thrown off balance by the surprisingly strong pull that the T.V. had. It took only a few, short moments before her entire front half was sucked in, pushing through the screen like water.

"H-Help!" JoJo called out to her friends, who were busy freaking the **fuck out**!

"I am freaking the **fuck out**!" Chie nearly screeched, trying to pull her much larger friend free from the carnivore television. "And seriously, did you used to be a man?"

"Shut up and help me!" JoJo answered with sophistication. Her face was red in embarrassment as she had no choice but to endure a long, pointless attempt to free her from Chie. Yosuke was busy running around trying to distract customers from the female posterior sticking out from one of the television screens, and complain about his small, chipmunk-like bladder that he claimed was full to burst.

"_Wait. This seems... familiar._"

JoJo opened her eyes, and saw why she felt like everything was on replay. The same landscape she saw in her dream was right in front of her! The yellow fog, the metallic girders, the strange platform that looked like a movie studio! It was all right in front of her! She couldn't see it to confirm, but she could almost _feel _it. A slight tug from the television nearly sent her completely inside, but another tug from Chie stopped her halfway. By that point she was completely off the ground. Her feet dangled freely in the air as Chie, and the now desperate Yosuke, held onto her legs for dear life.

"What is going on!?" Yosuke screamed out, unable to process anything he saw in the last few minutes. His eyes were as wide as plates, and sweat drenched his uniform as his nerves reached a breaking point. There was no possible way that it could get any worse than it already wa-!

A pull from the television sent all three spilling through the screen, and into the other side.

* * *

The impacts were hard, but somewhat welcome. Despite the near bone-shattering pain they felt, they were just happy to know that they landed _somewhere_.

"I landed on my wallet... ow..." Yosuke groaned, picking himself up off the ground. He looked around himself, unable to see past a thick, yellow fog that suffocated him. Just peering into the heavy haze was enough to rob his lungs of breath, and send a chill into his bones. Something about the fog just felt... _wrong_. He had no way to describe it. It was like walking into your house after a stranger entered it. He could just sense that something was off about the place around him.

"Geez," he heard Chie say before he saw her cut through the fog. The two of them couldn't see two inches in front of them. Anything that wasn't in their immediate line of sight was lost to the fog. "Man... Where the heck are we!?"

"I-I don't know!" Yosuke responded. That chill in his body was only getting worse. A slight nauseous feeling built up in his stomach. His head felt lighter and lighter every few seconds they were there.

"Is this someplace inside Junes?" Chie asked in desperation, praying against all odds that she would hear a yes.

"We fell through a T.V.! How could we be!?" Yosuke felt his bladder tighten as the nerves took over once more.

"It's called optimism, jerk!" Chie shot back, trying to send a kick, but missing and falling onto the ground. The same illnesses plaguing Yosuke were doing the same to Chie, who was having trouble staying on her feet. "Wh-Where's JoJo...?"

"No idea..." Yosuke answered sickly. Every second there was Hell. They felt as though their brains were being crushed by a tank.

"We gotta get moving," Chie said, picking a direction and sticking to it. "That way, we can try to find a way out."

"Are you crazy!?" Yosuke tried shouting, but he fell into a painful coughing fit. His chest felt like a set of knives were drove into it. "Isn't the first rule of survival to stay put, and wait for rescue?"

"That only works when they _know_ you're lost!" Chie argued, grabbing Yosuke by the arm and pulling him along with her. "You really think they'll search inside of T.V.s?"

"Ugh..." Yosuke groaned, choking back vomit. "G-Good point... But what about JoJo?"

"We'll find the way out, mark it on a map or something, and look around for her," Chie said in sequence, listing off the parts of her plan by raising three fingers.

"Uh, Chie."

"I mean," she continued, "it's what she'd want us to do. We have to make sure we know where to go when we all reunite."

"Chie."

"It's not like I'm afraid! Definitely not. I just know that wandering around without any sense of direction could lead to some bad results. So, for now-"

"CHIE!" Yosuke shouted, practically in her ear.

"What!?" Chie shouted back, trying to fix the ever growing ring in her ear.

"You're standing on JoJo."

Chie looked down to see that she was, in fact, standing on her friend's chest. JoJo mouthed the words 'please get off', her face bright red. Chie stepped off from JoJo, noticing a difference in height after leaving her human footstool.

"Oh... look...!" Chie said nervously. "We found JoJo...! Hehe...heh..."

An awkward silence fell onto them as JoJo picked herself up off the ground, dusting her skirt after getting to her feet.

"So we were going that direction?" JoJo asked simply, pointing to her right, the direction the two were going.

"Yeah," Yosuke answered, just as simply.

"Let's get going then," JoJo said, giving a sweet smile that made the two terrified. Surely she wouldn't hold a grudge over something that trivial... right?

* * *

"YOU WERE GOING TO LEAVE ME BEHIND!"

Apparently she would...

The three walked endlessly through the heavy fog. Every step was getting harder as the atmosphere around them drained everything they had. Limbs were getting harder to move, and their eyes fought invisible weights to stay open. The only one who appeared fine was JoJo, who was simply using whatever reserved energy she had to scream her head off at her friends. On the plus side, they all knew where each other was.

"I can't believe you!" JoJo continued her rant, despite feeling as sick as the others. "You would have left me in the middle of all this fog! What is wrong with you guys!?"

"Oh my God," Chie huffed out, her head pounding, attacked by an invisible jackhammer. "How many times do we have to apologize for that?"

"ONCE WOULD BE NICE!"

"Hey, guys," Yosuke said, ending JoJo's rant, and stopping any future bloodbath from occuring. "What's that over there?" He pointed ahead of them, towards what looked like the balcony to a traditional-style inn.

The heavy stench of wood clogged their nostrils, making JoJo sneeze. They looked off to the side of the balcony, trying to see if they could look past the fog. Nevertheless, it stayed thick and heavy. All that the railing gave them was a small sense of protection, to avoid falling off into... where ever was down there. The wall on the right, however, was a heavy, sturdy slab of wood. It was hard to make out a specific color, but it almost looked... maroon? The floorboards had the same tint, and creaked as they walked over them. A slight, red glow in front of them caught their attention. It started off dull, but gradually became brighter as they continued forward.

"What is that...?" Chie said in amazement, her hand covering her mouth in shock.

In front of them was a black, no red!, no... black? vortex. Each layer of red, then black, swirled deep into the epicenter, only to be followed by another. What peaked their interest was that it was the vortex was coming from a doorway. Since it was an inn, they already assumed that it was to someone's room.

"Do you think we should...?" Yosuke trailed off, gesturing his eyes to the vortex.

"I don't know," Chie said hesitantly, tensing her body up. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the place felt... bad. Like, _bad _bad.

"It could be the way out," JoJo pointed out. She was just as uncertain of the place as Chie, but she also knew that they would need to try _something_ if they wanted to get home. The more time they spent in that fog, the more JoJo had this weird feeling. Her skin felt like it didn't fit. As though her body was all wrong. The same went with her head too. She kept finding herself thinking half thoughts, thoughts that popped in and out so quick that she wasn't sure if she actually had them.

"Ah, screw it," Chie said. That was right before she ran headfirst into the vortex, and out of sight of her friends.

"Oh my God! Chie!" Yosuke screamed in panic, almost tempted to run in himself. His legs were cinder blocks by that point. No matter what he did, they wouldn't respond to his mental commands. Strength was draining from his body at an alarming rate. It was almost impossible to keep his eyes open. Each blink lasted longer than the last. But after each one, he found himself closer and closer to the vortex. He blinked once more, and found himself right at the spiraling, alien entrance. A nudge from an invisible hand pushed him through, and into a scene he never thought possible.

Chie was standing in the middle of the small, simple inn room, mouth agape in horror. All around them were torn posters, and a red fluid splashed against the walls. Claw scratches accompanied some of the posters, looking like a wild beast on a rampage. The mattress was torn open and splayed across the room, further cementing that an animal or something was tearing its way through there. The large bookshelf next to the bed had various trinkets on top of it, all knocked over and some rolling onto the floor. The curtains were open, allowing for the alien glow of the fog to illuminate the room, along with the bright red from the entrance behind them.

"It's a dead end. There's no exit!" Chie relented, her legs quivering in exhaustion. She felt like a leech was draining her blood, sucking the life out of her. The chill she felt earlier was making her outright shiver. Her teeth chattered as she rubbed her hands together.

"Man, it keeps getting creepier and creepier the further we go," Yosuke said, his own teeth chattering along with Chie. Unfortunately for the group, Yosuke's dwindling strength brought a new issue for them to contend with. Which Yosuke was quick to remind them of as he screamed.

"Ahh!" Chie screamed as well, nearly throwing a punch at Yosuke. She noticed how Yosuke's hands covered a very... _sensitive _area for him, and the uncomfortable moans flowing from his mouth. "What is wrong with you!?"

"I-I can't hold it any longer!" he was quick to answer. Yosuke threw himself to a nearby wall, his back turned to Chie as he tried to bleed the lizard. "My bladder's gonna explode!"

Chie was silent, simply blinking, as she processed the Don Quixote level statement she had just heard.

"Hanamura, you idiot!" Chie's face was bright red and scowling as she barked her frustrations. "I thought something bad happened! JoJo, you alrigh-" She looked down to see JoJo face down on the floor, passed out asleep. Slight snores coming from her gray-haired friend confirmed that she was still alive. "You have to be joking..."

The sound of a zipper only made it worse.

"Wh-What the Hell are you doing!?" Chie screamed, her face now red for a different reason. She could only reel in horror at the thought of public urination.

"I gotta let it out before I piss my pants!" Yosuke bleated desperately, not moving from his position at the wall. Sweat once again drenched his school uniform as he tried in vain to forget his stage fright.

"_Treat it like the urinal. Treat it like the urinal!_"he screamed to himself.

"Wait, you're going here!?" Chie once again shouted as she realized that her prayers that Yosuke wouldn't do what he set out to do were not going to be answered. "Oh, you've got to be kidding..."

A few, awkward moments passed. Chie and Yosuke played their little game of chicken, waiting for the inevitable splash. Time slowed to a crawl as Yosuke desperately tried to force his bladder to empty, to no avail. No matter how hard he tried, nothing came out. He could feel Chie's eyes burrow into his back, judging him. It wasn't his fault that they got stuck in the television!

"Ahh," Yosuke groaned out, rezipping his pants. "I can't go if people are watching..." He turned his back to Chie, and the passed out JoJo. "It's your fault if my bladder bursts!"

"Like I care!" Chie bit back, accidentally stomping on JoJo's hand in the process.

"Ow!" JoJo snapped her hand to her chest, cradling it as she curled into a ball. She picked herself off the ground after willing away the pain throbbing in her right hand. She gave a glare to Chie, who only responded with a sheepish look.

"Hey, what's up with this room?" Chie asked, quickly snapping the subject elsewhere. "What's with these posters?" She approached one, noticing that it showed a woman in a kimono. Chie drifted her eyes around the room, taking note of the same poster all around the room. "The faces are all cut out..." She took a scrap of poster off the floor, examining the damaged paper. "Someone must really hate this person."

"Hey, check this out," Yosuke said, gesturing to the center of the room.

In the center stood a simple, wooden chair. Above it was a bright red scarf, tied in a noose. The noose dangled lazily above the chair, almost inviting someone to put their head through it.

"The chair, and the rope?" Yosuke asked, thinking out loud. "This kind of arrangement is never good."

"Wait..." JoJo said, taking note of something. She stared at one of the mutilated posters, the least damaged of them. Her fingers pressed one of the torn sides up, slightly fixing it. She could almost make out the face on the poster. "I think I've seen this poster before..."

"C'mon," Chie announced, closer to the entrance they came from, "let's go back the way we came and try to find an exit."

"JoJo's right," Yosuke said, a revelation coming to him. "I think I've seen this somewhere before too!"

"Who cares!?" Chie said, bringing up a good point. Survive now. Investigate later. "Let's just go! I'm sick of this place." At the mere mention of the word 'sick', she choked back vomit. The burning, bitter taste crept up her throat and threatened to open the floodgates. "Literally..."

"Yeah," Yosuke put a hand to his head, feeling a heavy heat against his palm, "me too."

"Let's get out of here," JoJo said, suffering a pounding headache trying to shatter her skull.

* * *

The clanking sound of shoe against metal was a welcome sound for the trio as they made their way back from where they came. The pain in their bodies was outright torturous by that point. Pins and needles poked at every nerve they had. Bones were crushed by a heavy weight. Muscles were exploding for the tiniest movement.

"We finally made it back..." Chie groaned out, a weak smile on her face. She was drifting from side to side, almost falling over to either.

The sound quick footsteps pounded in their ears.

"Hey, something's over there!" Yosuke pointed out into the fog.

From the fog, a small figure cut its way through the cloud, and approached them.

"What is that thing?" Chie said, holding herself up on JoJo's shoulder. "A monkey... A bear...?"

It looked like an amusement park mascot. A blue-furred bear wearing a red and white jumpsuit, with red buttons going down its chest. Its blue ears twitched slightly every couple of seconds. The most disturbing thing about the creature was its eyes. Wide, large, and glossy. The glass covered orbs stared at anything that wasn't in front of it, both peering out to each side.

"What in the world...?" Yosuke said aloud, unable to break his gaze from the blue-colored nightmare in front of them.

"Th-That's what I wanna know!" the strange bear in front of them said.

* * *

_A/N_

Another chapter already? I'm spoiling you guys...

Anyway, WE FINALLY GOT TO THE MAGIC BULLSHIT! Let the fanfare begin!

Also, JoJo seemed willing to buy a T.V... Wonder why...?

But I'll try to see if I can pump out another, but I may be busy.

Until next time.


	7. Chapter 7

The bear stared at the three kids, who could only stare back. What the Hell was this thing? A blue bear in a red and white jumpsuit? Was it someone else that got sucked into the T.V. with them? If so, who was that guy?

"Who are you guys...?" it asked. Its voice was innocent and child-like, a young male. Its ear flicked and twitched every few seconds. Those large, glassy eyes never blinked, remaining open and wide no matter what.

"I-It talked!?" Chie screeched out. She jumped to the front of the pack, assuming a crane kick stance. "Wh-What are you!? You wanna fight!?"

"Waaaah!" the bear sobbed. The strange being collapsed onto the ground, rolling its body across the floor while it wept like a child. "Why am I always surrounded by scary ladies~!?"

"Uh," Chie could only respond with a groan. What was up with that thing? "What's with the crying?"

"Du-Dude," Yosuke hesitantly said. He approached the creature and patted its back. "You gotta man up. It's embarrassing..."

"I..." it stopped to choke back a sob. "I know that it's em-_bear_-assing..."

"Oh, never mind, fuck you," Yosuke announced, going back to the girls. The bear sobbed louder in response.

"So what are you?" Chie asked, glaring daggers at Yosuke. Though, to be fair, the joke was awful.

"Isn't it obvious?" it asked as an answer. "I'm a bear. I live here by myself. It's always been like this."

"You... live here?" JoJo asked, appearing from the back of the crowd. She was well hidden by the fog before then.

"Ah!" the bear squeaked out, almost clamming up and running off. "Wh-Why are you back!?"

"Back?" all three said, puzzled. Chie and Yosuke looked to JoJo, who was just as confused as they were.

"You guys need to go back!" the bear said, looking around itself. It seemed... scared? "And tell whoever keeps throwing people in here to stop doing it!" it looked to JoJo. "And you need to stay _faaaaar_ away from me, Ms. Missy!"

"What did I do?" JoJo asked, crushed by the verbal restraining order. Though she was afraid to admit it, she found the bear adorable. She just wanted to run up and hug it to death, but she needed to keep that desire in check. She'll find a way to come back later. Do it then.

"Wait, throwing people in?" Yosuke repeated. What was this bear saying? Nothing it said made any sense.

"Yeah... it's a big headache," the bear said, gripping its ears in each paw. "I don't know who's doing it, but I want them to think before doing something like that!" it scowled and stopped its feet.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Chie snapped, her own scowl on her face. "What gives you the right to yell at us like that? What even _are _you? Where are we? What the heck's going on here!?"

JoJo was shocked to see the bear running behind her for cover. The small whimpers and fearful shakes of the creatures made her heart melt.

"Wow, miss," the bear said in awe. "You're big..."

At least until it said that.

"Uh, dude," Yosuke warned. He saw pure rage on JoJo's face. He had seen that look before, on the day of the bicycle. That bear didn't need to see a level of berserk-style rage that he thought impossible of a teenage girl. "You may want to get away from both of them..."

"Just show us the exit..." JoJo hissed out. A smile that fringed on a scowl draped her face as her fists clenched. She no longer found the bear cute. She now wanted to kill it. Very, _very _slowly.

"Th-That's why I'm saying I'll let you out!" the bear said, taking Yosuke's advice and hiding behind him instead.

Yosuke groaned.

"Dude, we don't know where the exit i—wait what?" he felt his brain do a one-eighty as he stared at the bear.

With a tap of its foot, a column of three televisions, each stacked lazily on top of the other, descended from the fog. The televisions looked aged, like something from the eighties. They had the wood design and dials on them. Even antennas. It was a blast from the past in the weirdest way they could have imagined.

"Wh-What the Hell!?" Yosuke stepped back.

"Where did those T.V.s come from!?" Chie yelped out.

"_I'm not that big, right...?_" JoJo never noticed the arrival of the televisions.

"Now get going!" the bear ordered, pushing the trio through the television screen at the bottom of the totem pole. "I'm a very busy bear!"

"Hey!" Yosuke shouted as he was pushed through.

"Stop pushing!" Chie demanded before going into the screen herself.

* * *

The announcement of a new sale was a welcome to the trio. They simply laid on the floor on the Junes Electronics department, enjoying the smell of industrial strength, lemon-scented floor cleaner. The sounds of mindless drones purchasing whatever had the prettiest colors was a sight they had missed dearly. Out of curiosity, Yosuke checked his watch.

"Geez," he said, noticing that the time read that it was half past eight at night. "We spent more time in there than I thought."

"Who~ cares~...?" Chie moaned out in glee. She stayed on the floor, just enjoying the feeling of tile on her back. "At least we're out of that weird place and back home."

Yosuke nodded as he got to his feet. She certainly wasn't wrong. After standing up, he saw JoJo, who was staring at a nearby cut-out.

"Guys, look," she said, pointing to the cut-out. "It's same lady from the poster."

The kimono, and the woman wearing it, matched the poster completely. It was an advertisement for the new album for-

"Misuzu Hiragi!" Chie remembered. She approached the cardboard mimic of the enka singer. "She's the wife of that guy having the affair with Mayumi Yamano!"

"Oh yeah," Yosuke said as he stared at the cut-out. "Now it all makes... still not a lick of sense..."

"Whoever was in that room hated Hiragi," JoJo said deadpanned, an eyebrow raised. "What about that is hard to understand?"

"Hey, how about you try-! Wait, are you being serious?" Yosuke asked, unable to feel the sting of sarcasm he had grown to detect.

"Guys!" Chie called out, a hand to her temple. "I seriously don't need any more loud noises... My head's killing me..."

"Yeah," Yosuke said, clutching his chest. "It's hard to catch my breath. Maybe we should all just go home? I need a hot shower..."

"Agreed," JoJo said, nodding her head. She felt cold bile trying to escape her throat, like she was about to vomit ice water.

"But we're all in agreement that today has officially become the one we repress until therapy is required, right?" Yosuke asked in confirmation, his eyes darting to his friends.

"Well that goes without saying really," Chie said,. Her hands were rubbing against each other, trying to warm the chill in her body.

"Let's just go home..." JoJo sighed out, feeling a weight press on her shoulders. It was strange, completely indescribable. Like a boulder was placed on her shoulder blades, yet _moved_ down her spine. It took all of her will power not to visibly lurch from the strange sensation.

"Right," Chie said, turning her back to the duo before walking away into the hustle and bustle of late night shoppers.

"I guess I'll head on home," Yosuke said, giving a small wave as he too sank into the ocean of humans.

JoJo stood alone in the Electronics department. She looked back to the TV, unable to find any words. A part of her wanted the whole mess to be a long, complex day dream. Another wanted to know just what in her mind could imagine a place like that. And an even smaller part remembered the words of the bear. Had she been there before?

"_Ah... let's just forget about it for now."_

"_**-Something even I can handle!**_" the words of a cheery teenaged girl caught JoJo's attention. Her vision focusing on the newest concoction of the idol industry. What was her name again? She wanted to say it started with a K...

"_Doesn't matter... I refuse to associate with that liar..._"

Bitter memories of wasted money on all those diet drinks came to the forefront of JoJo's mind. So many empty cans... so many calories remained unburned...

A hand drifted to one of her impressive breasts, cupping and lifting it as she stared at it with a frown. She sighed as she released her bosom, accepting defeat. Genetics had won. Her idea of 'normal' would never be reached...

"_Oh right..._"

JoJo smacked herself, remembering that she had unintentionally brought up her wealth. Her face went red as the realization that she had almost purchased a brand new television washed over her. The one thing her parents told her not to do, and she screwed it up without even lasting a week...

"_I really am sheltered..._"

* * *

JoJo had trouble making it through the door. The adrenaline of the day crashed, and it crashed _hard_. Every step felt like a marathon, and every breath felt like a mere sip of water in a desert. Her head pounded, hands shook, skin pale and clammy. It took all of her strength not to vomit where she stood. Not that she had anything left to vomit, having already dispensed of the contents of her stomach in the Junes bathroom earlier.

"_Ugh... please, God, just let me get home._"

As she opened the door, she saw a familiar little girl sitting in the living room with her father. Dojima was a stoic man, this JoJo knew. But nothing could have prepared her for the horrifying look that she received when she walked through that door. It was as though she saw true rage in the quiet, somber look of the forty-something-year-old sitting with his child. If he had been screaming, throwing things, or even more blatantly over the top with his anger, she could have steeled herself enough to fumble out a few apologies. But the subtle, never ending stare was all the worse. He read her like a book.

"So..." Dojima began, finally ending the torment. "You were out late today."

"Y-Yes!" JoJo said immediately, clawing at the light she somehow saw at the end of the long tunnel. "I-I was with my ne-new friends an-and they were showing me around! We got a bit lo-lost, so I we stayed out later than we wanted to. Hehe..." JoJo said, adding a short nervous laugh at the end.

Dojima was silent. That same, crushing silence came back. JoJo was choked of air, unable to open her eyes after her last blink. Too terrified of what her uncle was about to do.

"You look sick," Dojima said simply. His voice grated JoJo's ears, feeling like sandpaper.

"I do!?" she nearly screeched. "Oh! Yes, I do... I was feeling under the weather towards the end, so we went to Junes and made our way back from there."

"Junes?"

"Y-Yes."

"After you just said you were lost?"

"We-Well-!"

"Do I smell vomit on your breath?"

"I-It's on my breath!?"

"So you did vomit?"

"Dad!" JoJo heard the voice of her cousin as though it was an angel sent by the almighty himself. "Stop fighting, please?"

"Ah," Dojima sighed, catching himself. "Sorry, Nanako. You're right."

A few seconds of silence passed.

"You can open your eyes now."

JoJo did just that. Light burned her retinas as the full extent of her headache came into scope. A hand went to her temple, rubbing it in desperation for relief.

"You sure you're okay?" Dojima asked, noticing the disapproving look of the young child just out of the corner of his view.

"I'll be alright," JoJo said, turning to the stairs. "I think I'm just gonna go to bed."

"Oh, one question before you go," Dojima said, paralyzing JoJo to the spot. "Do you know a Saki Konishi?"

"Sa-Saki-senpai?" JoJo asked, picking up on the distant tone of her uncle. "I guess so. We haven't talked much, but I met her."

"She's gone missing," Dojima said tersely. He noticed the way his niece turned as white as a sheet, eyes wide. "We've got people out looking for her, but nothing's come up. Did she say anything weird when you talked with her?"

JoJo merely stood there, unable to move a muscle.

"I'm just going to file that under 'No' for now," Dojima sighed, turning his head to the TV.

"_I think I'm just gonna stay down here for a little bit..._" JoJo thought as memories of that 'killer' rumor came flooding back.

"_**And more on the mysterious death in the small town of Inaba. Not long ago, local TV announcer Mayumi Yamano was found dead in the small town. Up until now, her whereabouts prior to her death had been unknown. But the investigation launched by the police has found that she had been staying in the region's famous Amagi Inn.**_"

JoJo picked up on the name of the inn. She could have sworn she heard that name before, but her mind felt like it was fighting against itself.

"_**She had apparently been staying there alone. Perhaps she was taking a vacation to recover from her ordeal?**_"

"**Oh, yes, the Amagi Inn! Their hot springs are first-rate! The manager's teenage daughter also works there, and it's rumored that she'll take over the inn this spring. If that happens, she'll be one of the youngest managers on record! I should book another trip there!**"

"_**Uhh... I-I see... Moving along, it's time for the weather report. The rain has begun to subside. From now until morning, heavy fog warnings will be in effect in the Inaba region. Visibility will be severely reduced. So please be careful if you plan on driving in the area...**_"

"Of course they'd get the story eventually," Dojima sighed, rubbing his tired eyes. "JoJo, don't listen to those parasites. They love to... JoJo?" Dojima turned to see that his niece no longer was in the room. A heavy slam from upstairs confirmed that she had, in fact, listened to the reporters.

"Great..."

* * *

_A/N_

So I finally updated this old thing.

Yay for the Dork, I guess?

Until Next Time


	8. Chapter 8

_She can't see much. Everything is too blurry. It's all a mash of moving colors against a white background. Her head feels like filled with fluff._

"_You remember the conditions, right?"_

_That voice... it sounds so familiar..._

"_JoJo."_

_Was that...?_

"_Now, dear," another voice said. This one was just as familiar. "She's a big girl. She can take care of herself. Besides, she's staying with my brother. He'll make sure nothing happens."_

"_I know..." the original said. "Guess I'm still hesitant about letting my kid run off to a foreign country, that's all."_

"_That didn't stop you from letting your son do it."_

_Her head was clearing, albeit slowly. The painting her mind was making was slowly sliding back together. The colors grouping together, shapes taking form and creating images. She knew where she was. She was in the kitchen back home._

_It was extravagant to say the least. Counter tops that glowed like the sun, dishes that looked as though actual gold line them (which it probably did), and servants walking to and fro as they talked. The man that first addressed her fiddled with the bow-tie of his tuxedo, trying to get it just right. His wife, the other voice, wore a deep red formal dress that exposed the back. Her face was covered with expensive make up, and she reeked up perfume. She approached the man, assisting with the tie. _

"_For one," the man defended, "he's twenty-five. He can do what he wants." He turned to JoJo, who stood in the middle of the kitchen. "She's sixteen."_

_The woman just scoffed._

"_It's your fault she's so shy," she said, smirking to the man as she pecked him on the cheek. "Trust me, my brother won't let anything happen to her. He's a cop, if that helps."_

"_Only a bit," the man said. He stared at JoJo in silence. He bit his lip as he pondered. "Okay, fine. She can go. But I'm gonna complain about it when we get to Vegas."_

"_Were you ever going to give me a choice?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow._

"_Not really, no," the man said, chuckling to himself. "Now, JoJo, you do remember the rules right?"_

"_Uh..." she finally found her voice, it stuck in her throat._

"_Call me the minute you get to the station;" he listed off, "don't get distracted and get right to your train; call me the minute you get to Dojima's house; and don't go flashing your money around. You'll be surrounded by people who don't have as much as us. It's a sure fire way to get mugged."_

"_Hey," the woman jumped in, her brow furrowed, "I grew up there. Trust me, it's not a cesspool."_

"_Even so," the man continued, the man shrugging his shoulders as the suit pinched into him, "it'll be good for you to live without our safety nets for a bit. You kept saying how you wanted to 'be normal', right?"_

_JoJo's face went bright red as she nodded. She was not aware her dad knew about that..._

"_Well there you go then," he said simply. He gave a graveled throat clear, his powerful voice coming back in full. "I just don't want you calling me in two weeks complaining about the food."_

_JoJo went even redder..._

"_But try to make a few friends," her mother said to her, a worried look on her painted up face. "I know you feel lonely, and you have a year, so try to have some fun, okay?"_

"_O-Okay..."_

"_That's my girl," her mother said with a smile. She turned to her husband, who stood with his arms crossed across his chest._

"_But I don't wanna hear about being a grandad, you hear?" he said with a cruel smile. JoJo went back to her almost natural state of red._

"_Master David, Mrs. Hinako, your car has arrived," one of the butlers announced as he entered the kitchen, taking note of the embarrassed state of the young girl._

"_Great, that's us," the foreign man said as he clapped his hands, taking hold of his wife's hands as they left, leaving JoJo alone._

"Oh geez, what have I gotten myself into...?_"_

* * *

JoJo could barely move. Her muscles creaked and groaned like old pipes. Any motion sent her stomach sideways, bile to her throat, and tears to her eyes. A chill tickled her spine and made her clutch the covers to herself. That wasn't the only thing that made her want to cover herself up and hide from the world.

She showed off her wealth... after she promised not to...

She wasn't even thinking when it happened. It was like second nature by that point.

"_I'm in so much trouble..._"

The sirens outside peaked her interest, making her slide out from her safety shell of blankets. The chirp of police sirens sent a shock down her back, nearly sending her back, but curiosity pulled her out. Along with another realization.

"_I'm gonna be late for school!_"

That managed to get her completely out of bed. She wobbled as she got to her feet, nearly sending her back to the floor. It took all of the willpower she had to get changed for the day. Her face felt flushed, as though she had a fever. Despite the feeling, she forced her way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning," she heard Nanako say, who sat peacefully while waiting for the toaster to finish.

"Morning..." JoJo groaned out, her head pounding. She pressed her temple in desperation for it to go away, but to no avail.

"Are you okay?" Nanako asked, her face full of worry. "You look sick."

"I'm fine..." JoJo all but hissed out. "Just... allergies... Not used to the pollen..."

"Allergies?" Nanako asked in confusion. "Like, when you can't have peanuts?"

"Sort of..." JoJo said simply, wanting peace and quiet. She sat at the table across from Nanako. She buried her face in her hands, waiting for the sickly feeling to go away.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Nanako asked once again. "You really don't look good..."

"I'll be okay..." JoJo whimpered out, her voice fading out like the ember to a flame.

It was only a few moments later that she was completely asleep at the table, her face still buried in her hands. Nanako walked over to the larger girl and shook her, unable to get a reaction from her. Nanako took hold of one of JoJo's hands, her small ones disappearing in the grip of the much larger ones. Despite of how slender they are, JoJo's hands still engulfed the child's. Nanako directed the half asleep JoJo to the living room couch, who immediately crumpled atop of it, shivering from an unseen wind.

Nanako retrieved the thermometer from the bathroom cabinet and placed it in JoJo's mouth. It was an electronic one, so after a few seconds it beeped and showed the exact temperature on the small glass screen on the side of its plastic body.

"99.4" Nanako said out loud, stumbling over the decimal. She took on a defiant look as JoJo attempted to raise up from the couch, repeating that she was fine and had to go to school. "You're too sick! Nurse Nanako will take care of her patient!"

It wasn't long before JoJo collapsed completely back onto the couch, her body a ton of bricks.

* * *

Yosuke and Chie stood in the middle of the school auditorium, scanning the crowd for their friends. Teens of all varieties filled the surprisingly small room, but they couldn't spot a tall, gray-haired girl or a girl in red. Everyone was muttering, speculating on what the announcement was about. Some assumed it was just a welcoming speech for the new students, others that was about the incident downtown, and a very select few thought it had something to do with lizard people but they were weird.

"You see them?" Yosuke asked, his eyes glued to the crowd.

"No," Chie said, her much the same. She huffed as the realization of not talking to her friends hit her. Not that Yosuke was that bad, but they were about to have an assembly so hitting him would just get her in trouble. She felt her pocket buzz as her phone alerted her to a message. She retrieved the device and opened flip screen. She groaned as she read the message.

"What?" Yosuke asked, turning to Chie, who looked visibly blue.

"Yukiko's got inn stuff today, so she won't be here..." Chie explained, kicking at the ground like a depressed child.

"Oh, that sucks," Yosuke said causally, earning a small glare from Chie.

"Oh well..." Chie said sadly. "Maybe JoJo got cold feet and hid in the bathroom?"

"Wouldn't put it past her," Yosuke said, shrugging his shoulder. "Did you try texting her too?"

"Dude, I don't have her number," Chie said, astonished. "I completely forgot to ask her for it."

"Oh," Yosuke piped out, his eyes also wide with confusion. "Well we did have that whole thing to deal with yesterday. I'm not blaming you too much."

"What about you?" Chie asked, craning her neck to see if Yosuke had his phone out. "You already got it?"

"What makes you think I have any girl's number on my phone!?" Yosuke asked in embarrassment. It wasn't long before he caught himself. "W-Wait! I didn't mean-!"

"Haha! Too late!" Chie sneered as she stuck her tongue out to Yosuke, who merely sulked where he stood. "But seriously, we should go check up on her when we're done here. Do you know where she lives?"

"Me? No," Yosuke admitted, his mood improved by the changed subject. "She came from the streets by the floodplains when I first met her, but that's used by a bunch of people."

"Still," Chie said optimistically, "wouldn't hurt too much to ask around."

"Good point," Yosuke said, nodding in agreement. "We'll try to find her house after this is all done."

It was well over an hour before the principal of the school came out on the auditorium stage. His formal robes covered the withered body of an old man, but could not stop the shaking his age had given him. He approached the microphone, but it was clear that he didn't have all of his thoughts together as it broad-cast a few of his mumblings.

"Oh geez... how am I gonna...?...so awkward..."

The students all talked amongst themselves as they waited for the old man to fully deliver his speech. They felt worried as the principal was visibly sweating. His hands shook more than usual, and his voice was cold and dreary.

"Students," he began, his voice collected, "I regret to inform you that we have suffered a great loss."

The students were all paralyzed. Not a single one of them said a word as the mere tone of their principal frightened them into silence.

"One of our students... has died."

Chie and Yosuke shot looks to each other as they turned into ice statues. The sickly feeling they both got from the TV World they entered returned with full force. They had no idea how they kept on their feet.

"Miss Saki Konishi was found early this morning..." the principal choked on his words, tears were visible on his face. "Her body is now in police custody. I wish for us all to have a moment of silence for the loss of our dear friend."

Chie could only stare at Yosuke, terrified of what he was thinking. Something happened, and she could guess that he wanted to know what it was...

* * *

"Yay!" Nanako cheered to herself as she pulled the thermometer out from the now conscious JoJo's mouth. "Your fever broke!"

"I told you that I'd be alright..." JoJo groaned as she tried to get up. She appreciated the rag Nanako placed on her head, cooling her down immensely. Also the soup, which the child all but forced her to eat.

"Nuh uh, missy!" Nanako stopped JoJo, who couldn't force herself past the six-year-old barrier. "You're still too sick! Just sit down and rest!"

JoJo fell back onto the couch as the realization hit her that she probably wasn't going to make it to school that day.

"_Hopefully I didn't miss anything too important..._"

* * *

"You're gonna do what!?" Chie shrieked at Yosuke. The two stood outside of the school, under one of the awnings that protected them from the heavy rain. Chie was berserk with anger while Yosuke was as calm as a spirit.

"I know that place had something to do with her death..." Yosuke said, his voice determined, "I have to find out what."

"Even after we almost died in there!?" Chie screamed, grabbing Yosuke's shoulders. Her grip crushed the bones in the boy's body, but he didn't seem to react.

"Chie," he said, "it's something I have to do."

With that, Yosuke shook off Chie's hands, walking out into the rain before disappearing from her vision.

Only one thought graced Chie's mind.

"_I have to find JoJo!_"

* * *

_A/N_

So I tried to make JoJo's backstory and family a bit clearer. Basically, she comes from a rich family and her dad's a foreigner. How will that play into things?

HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT UP AND READ IT, ANUS-PICKER!?

No, but, seriously, it will do things. But I'm not saying anything just yet.

Also, I'm sorry if this one sucks to you. I wrote this the same night I wrote my solo Berserk thing (which you should read because I said so), and that took a lot of me. It's just that I kept wanting to get another thing done, so I picked this to add another chapter.

Until Next Time!


	9. Chapter 9

Chie ran.

Through the rain, the wind, the cold, and the fear. All she could do was run.

Every step shot water into the air like a geyser, soaking her uniform all the way through. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew that she had to stop Yosuke from doing something idiotic. Her first reaction was to grab JoJo, but she didn't have a clue on where to find her. All she could do was rush to Junes in hopes of catching Yosuke in time before he threw himself back into that place.

Her chest ached as her breaths became shorter and harder. Her lungs felt as though they had spikes in them. She shot her head to each side, trying to find where she was at. The local tofu shop pointed that she was in the shopping district, and not too far from Junes. Tennis shoes slammed into the ground like meteors as she ran further.

"_Please don't do anything stupid!_"

* * *

JoJo's head felt like it was on fire. Yet her body froze and made her shiver. Every breath was labored and ended with her coughing up things best not described. She could barely move as Nanako moved about; handing her cold medicine and soup, changing the rag placed on her forehead, and making sure her pillow was fluffed.

"_Good... little..._"

JoJo lost her thoughts as the fever drained her once more. Any attempt at thinking caused her eyes to drift closed, knocking her unconscious into a nap before she was awoken by Nanako handing her more tissues. JoJo begged for her body to cool down, yet clutched the blankets her smaller housemate gave to her to fend off another shaking episode brought on by the cold.

"_**As I suspected...**_" a powerful voice in her head said. Just hearing the being's speech made her feel better, as though it rejuvenated every part of her being. "_**It was much too early for you to become exposed... We must awaken you to your power as soon as possible.**_"

"_Wh-What...?_" JoJo thought, trying to communicate with the voice. She would have said it out loud, had she the strength to do just that. Strength resumed to spill from her, like water from a glass. The thought crossed her mind that she might die on that couch more than once. Especially with how worried Nanako began to look. The child's lip would tremble as she handed JoJo more and more medicine. It would mark the fifth time JoJo had taken a dose of cough syrup that day. She would have warned Nanako not to over-dose her, but her mind and body where unable to come together.

"_**Rest, dear child,**_" the voice echoed in her skull, giving JoJo the oddest feeling of familiarity. In fact, the voice seemed familiar as well... where had she heard it before?

"_**Rest, and allow me to fight.**_"

* * *

"Damn it..." Yosuke said, as empty as a shell. He placed his hand on the same television that kidnapped them the day before. The exact same one that stood in the center of the Electronics Department of Junes. Surrounded by customers, fluorescent lights, and backbreaking cement floors barely disguised by tile. But despite of how hard he pushed at the screen, his hand wouldn't go through. It would press against the screen, leaving an unsightly hand-print on the empty black screen that reflected the young teen's face.

He knew deep down that he must have imagined it. That he had a fever dream, or just a day dream, and that he never really entered the TV. Yosuke sighed as the realization hit him. He twisted Saki's death into something it wasn't. There wasn't a horrid supernatural entity picking people off from inside of a TV. It was just a sick, deranged person that killed her. He was simply too afraid to admit it; that someone could just kill her like that.

"Yosuke!" Chie called, running through the crowd of confused customers. The bowl-haired teen dripped water from every angle. Whether it was rain water or sweat, it didn't matter too much. She huffed and puffed as she tried to catch her breath, finally running into the one she was trying to find. While she was terrified at seeing him that close to the screen, she thanked God that his hand wasn't going through it.

"Oh, hey..." Yosuke said, shrugging his shoulders at Chie so faintly that she barely caught the movement. The energy and goofiness of her friend was long gone. His face was dark, bent down towards the floor. He refused to look in her direction, still facing the TV. The pitter patter of water graced the tile as tears fell from his eyes.

"Yosuke..." Chie said. She planned to bark his ears off about rushing ahead and endangering himself. That her and their friends would be alone if he died. That he was an idiot and needed to think about others for a change. But seeing the broken man before her silenced her.

"Do you think she was afraid?" Yosuke asked, shocking Chie. He turned his head to her, making Chie look away. The silence between them was all consuming. Neither could speak. Neither needed to. They could only bask in the sorrow.

"Yosuke," Chie said after several moments of silence, "let's just go home, man. You need to process this."

"I know," Yosuke said, shrugging his shoulders once again. "I mean, I barely even knew her compared to her family. She's got a brother and everything, so I kinda feel like a dick for being so melodramatic."

"It's fine to be upset," Chie said, patting him on the back, "just don't let it eat you up inside. It's not what she would've wanted."

"I know," Yosuke repeated, nodding his head. He rubbed his eyes, wiping away any excess tears. "I get it. I gotta just pray that whoever did this is gonna be caught. It's the best I can do."

"Right," Chie said, a small smile on her face. "It's not much. But it's enough."

The two once again stood in silence. This one was not as cold or suffering as the previous. It was a silence that showed they understood each other. One that signified that the conversation was over.

"So," Yosuke said, perking up considerably. His trademark grin was back on his face as he readjusted his headphones. "Let's try to find JoJo's place, what do ya say?"

"Sounds good!" Chie all but cheered, herself perked up as well. "Besides, I'm worried about how she never came to school. I mean, it's only the second day, and she doesn't seem the type to skip."

"Agreed," Yosuke said, turning away from the TV to face Chie. He tapped his foot as he thought. "Do you think we can try to find anyone she lives with? I mean, I don't think she's by herself."

"Well," Chie started, putting a finger to her chin, "there is that old cop guy we met."

"Wait-what!?" Yosuke all but shouted. Maybe he didn't know JoJo as well as he thought... "When was this!?"

"It was the first day she showed up," Chie explained, crossing her arms across her chest. "We walked past that crime scene about the reporter lady, and her uncle came out of nowhere to talk to us."

"Wait," Yosuke said, his face going white. "Her uncle's a cop?"

"Yep," Chie said, giving a nod.

"Well that's just great..." Yosuke said, slumping his posture as he stood.

"Sorry you're so upset, lover-boy," Chie teased, poking his shoulder with one of her slender fingers. She stuck her tongue out when he sneered back at her.

"That's the exact reason I'm paranoid," Yosuke said, waving a hand. "The last thing I need is that guy getting all clingy to his niece and stalking us every time we all hang out."

"Oh come on," Chie said incredulously, "you really think he'll get that bad?"

"I don't know..." Yosuke said, rubbing his eyes once again. "Just call it a gut feeling for now."

"**Companions**!"

Chie and Yosuke turned, eyebrows as high as the ceiling as they saw a strange sight before them.

It was JoJo, a large, fake smile on her face. She held a bright pink designer bag across her arm, a cappuccino in one hand, a cell phone in the other, and wore dark sunglasses that completely covered her eyes. Instead of the dark gray that they had seen JoJo wear on her uniform, she wore a hot pink blouse and short skirt that matched. The makeup she wore looked expertly put on, her lips accentuated by gloss and eyes made striking with dark mascara. Blush did its job of hiding any blemish that would have ruined her complexion, had she any to begin with. If they hadn't known better, they would have assumed that the girl in front of them was one of those popular girls that hung around Ebihara all the time.

"Jo-JoJo!?" Chie stammered out, seeing the strange attire her new friend wore. The sunglasses were what confused her the most. It was raining and dark outside, yet she felt the need to wear those things?

"**Yes, tis I-**" the tall gray-head stopped herself midway, catching the words threatening to spill out. "**I-I mean: Yes, it is me! Your friend.**"

"Uh..." Yosuke found himself staring at the strange sight before him. "What's the matter with you?"

"**I am not aware of what you are suggesting**," 'JoJo' said, her voice sounding regal and commanding. Though it kept the pleasant pitch of a young woman, it was clear that whoever was speaking was not the same friend they had talked to the day before. "**I am a regular teenager such as yourselves. Now! Let us inspect this device that sends the pleasant images and sounds to our brains.**"

'JoJo' stepped ever closer to the wide screen that had sucked them in the day before, getting dangerously close to the screen. Sweat dripped down her head, barely enough to see, but noticeable if you had already thought her suspicious. Her brow threatened to sink into a scowl, like a hardened soldier pretending to be a clown.

"Riiight..." Chie said, approaching her 'friend'. She scanned her over, trying to catch subtle giveaways to what was going on. "JoJo, what are you doing?"

"**I-I am once again perplexed by what you and our mutual friend are insinuating,**" 'JoJo' said, acting offended by raising her nose to the sky, like a stereotypical princess. "**I am rather upset that you and master Yosuke are claiming that I am not your friend M-**"

'JoJo' stopped herself short, face gone red and hand clenched against her mouth. The drink she held fell to the ground, breaking apart the cafe cup and spilling hot coffee against the ground. Her sunglasses were askew, nearly exposing her eyes. 'JoJo' snapped her head to all sides, checking for any onlookers.

"We don't know her real name," Yosuke said with a smirk, catching the doppelganger redhanded. "Now do you mind telling us who you are? Like, are you an estranged twin or some-?"

Yosuke was cut short as 'JoJo' shoved him with all of her strength into the television, flowing through the screen like water.

"WHAT THE-!?" Chie screamed before she herself was thrown in, 'JoJo' grabbing her shoulder before chucking her through the screen.

"**I do apologize**," 'JoJo' said as she slid through the television as she followed the teens. "**But the child, Misako, will require as many allies as she can muster for her coming battles...**"

The impersonator removed her glasses as she fell into the fog, revealing bright, piercing yellow eyes.

* * *

_A/N_

So yeah, that happened.

Now you know JoJo's real name. Good for you. You're special. You're number one.

Haha... no you're not...

Anyway, I wanted to get this done since I'm gonna go see Star Wars tomorrow, and that's all I'm gonna be thinking about for the next few days.

Oh, that and

_**BERSERK IS GETTING A NEW ANIME, MOTHER FUCKERS! **_

The hype of when I found the articles talking about that are beyond any comprehension.

It has been a kickass Christmas time for me. Hope it's the same for all of you.

Until Next Time!


	10. Chapter 10

It was over before either of them could realize it. One second they were in the Junes Electronics department, and the next they were back in that strange place that tormented them the day before. That same, toxic fog surrounded them, obscuring their vision. Yosuke's head spun as he tried to get to his and locate his friends.

He couldn't believe what happened. That weird thing that looked like JoJo shoved him inside the TV! What the Hell was all that about!? What did he ever do to her!?

"Mmm..." he heard Chie groan. He waved a hand, trying to waft the fog enough to let him see. It was largely unsuccessful; the fog he pushed away was quickly overtaken by even more of the sickening yellow cloud. Eventually, following the sounds of Chie moaning on the ground, he located her amidst the mist. She had a small gash on her forehead, with blood trickling from it.

"Chie!" Yosuke said, crouching down to check on his friend. No matter how many times he shook her, she refused to move. He placed a hand to her chest (all the while trying to keep the red from his face) and felt her heartbeat. Yosuke sighed in relief at feeling the rhythmic pulse, gently placing her back down to the ground.

"_Great,_" Yosuke thought as he looked deep into the fog, "_now I'm lost and alone..._"

"**I apologize for your young friend,**" he heard an all too familiar voice say. Yosuke snapped his vision around in all directions, trying to spot where his attacker was. "**It appears that it is still too early for her.**"

"Too early for what!?" Yosuke shouted, his fists clenched. His bowels twisted into knots as fear overrode blind courage.

"**I am afraid that I cannot tell you,**" it said, still hidden within the fog. "**Just know that I will cause no harm to you or your companions.**"

"Well throwing us into a TV definitely isn't the best way to show that!" Yosuke said, tapping his foot against Chie's side. He sighed at the feeling of his shoe coming into contact with her.

"**I know,**" the voice said, "**but it was for the greater good. We must activate the girl's power before the fog consumes her.**"

"Wh-Who?" Yosuke asked, his eyes wide. That sick feeling that he felt yesterday was back in full force. Every breath was hard and heavy, more of a desperate pant. His skull felt several sizes too small. "Ch-Chie?"

"**No,**" the voice said simply. "**Her time is later.**"

"Her t-time!?" Yosuke shouted. His brain was on fire as the fog drifted through his nostrils. "What the Hell are you talking about, dude!?"

The voice gave a long sigh. One that was as heavy as lead. Yosuke could feel the weight press on his shoulders as he stood in the blinding fog.

"**It appears that I must show you, then,**" the voice said before it stepped into Yosuke's vision.

Before him was JoJo, still wearing that ridiculous outfit from earlier. The only difference, however, were the striking eyes she had. They were bright yellow, cutting through the fog like a knife. Her face was a hardened frown, like a trained warrior awaiting orders. The silence between them was more suffocating than the fog.

"Jo-JoJo!?" Yosuke stammered out, seeing his 'friend' in the fog. He tripped over himself, and falling hard to the ground, as JoJo approached him. Her eyes tore into his soul, seeing through any mental guise he thought he could erect.

"**No,**" 'JoJo' said, her voice intoxicating and powerful. "**She is merely vessel through which I serve.**"

"Will you stop with the magic-mumbo-jumbo and tell me what the fuck is happening!?" Yosuke screamed out, still holding himself up with his hands. He slowly got to his feet as the figure before him looked confused.

"**I...**" 'JoJo' said, trying to find the words. "**I cannot explain at the moment. However, I know that the bear will arrive at any moment.**"

"Hey, wait a seco-!"

"What are you guys doing baaack~!?" the familiar red and blue bear whined as he came from the fog, sending Yosuke back to the floor. The cuddly mascot put his paws to his eyes as tears threatened to flow out. Small sniffles echoed in the emptiness around them.

"**I apologize,**" JoJo said, turning to the creature. "**But I must ask of you two favors.**"

The bear stopped its crying...

And then started screaming...

"AH! IT'S YOU AGAIN! WHY DO YOU KEEP TORMENTING ME, YOU SCARY WITCH, GIANT, LADY-THING!?" the bear cried as it huddled behind Yosuke for shelter.

"Seriously," Yosuke started, groaning at the pitiful sight before him, "what did you do to this guy?"

"**I threatened to slay him were he to not release my vessel from this strange landscape,**" JoJo cryptically explained; face cold and stoic.

"She threatened to kick my butt if I didn't let her out!" the bear translated into more common speech, resuming his crying session.

"Dude," Yosuke said, feeling the creature's tears stain his uniform. "Can you guys please just tell me what the Hell is happening? By this point, I really don't care about the little family feud you've got going on here."

"**We are not 'family'!**" JoJo barked, her voice shaking the world around them. "**But if you must know, we need to release Chie from this world before we venture further.**"

"'Venture furth-'" Yosuke began, cutting the quote short. "You want to go deeper through here!?"

"**Yes,**" JoJo said, nodding sharply, "**that is correct.**"

"Why would you do that!?" Yosuke demanded, trying to push the bear off of him after one too many attempts at a hug. "What possible reason do you have to risk our lives in this place!?"

"**You desire the truth about your lover's death, do you not?**" JoJo asked, tilting her head to the side. She crossed her arms over her chest, awaiting a response.

"'Lo-Lover'!?" Yosuke screamed once again, feeling his voice begin to give out. "That's a bit much, isn't it?"

"Guys..."

"**That is not accurate to how you and Konishi were close?**"

"Guys."

"Of course it wasn't! She barely even knew I existed!"

"Guys!"

All three looked down to see a very dazed, and frustrated, Chie. Her eyes were glossed over as she tried to stand up. She wobbled so bad that she fell back to the floor more than once. Only with the help of the bear and Yosuke did she stay upright. Her head twisted slowly as she tried to get a hold of her surroundings.

"Where are we...?" she asked tiredly. The wound on her head trickled out more blood as her hand clutched it. Her jacket was stained a dark red as she pressed on the wound.

"This is a dream," JoJo said, her voice returning to its usual soft self. She spoke with a smile as she stared directly at the weakened girl. "You fell unconscious inside of Junes, after Yosuke entered the television."

"Wait-Why are you telling her that!?" Yosuke screamed, causing Chie to lose her grip on his shoulder and crumpling to the ground.

"Yeah," the bear said with worry, "that's not what happened..."

"**Silence, you ingrates before you-!**"

"Hey..." Chie groaned out, shaking her head as her movements became steadier. "That's not what happened!" Chie pushed herself off of the bear and Yosuke, marching her way up to JoJo and grabbing her collar. The girl raised a fist in the air, aiming it like a cannon at the taller one's face. "You're the one who pushed us in here!"

The bear gasped as Chie's accusation sank in.

"So you're the one throwing people in here!" the bear said, pointing a finger at JoJo. "I should have known it was you! Now stop messing up my home, missy!"

JoJo sighed as her eyes dimmed, the yellow not as bright, but still just as haunting.

"It is true that I am the one that forced you into this place," JoJo said, the voice still not as powerful as before. "But I am not the one responsible for the other incidents."

"Other incidents...?" Yosuke and Chie asked in unison, looking to the bear as it still had a scowl painted on its face.

"And you expect me to believe that, don't you Miss Big Butt!?" the bear said confidently. Unaware of what it had just done.

"_**WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?**_" JoJo shrieked.

Chie wasn't sure when she got loose, but she did know that she had to pry her off of the bear before more fur and stuffing flew into the air.

"**I am sorry, children!**" the other voice relented as JoJo's hands ripped and pulled at anything that looked vital for the bear. "**I have lost complete control over my vessel! She is on a rampage!**"

* * *

After several minutes of shouting, screaming, cursing, and a fair amount of scratching, they finally dragged JoJo off of the bear. Said creature was busy pulling itself back together (quite literally as it dragged itself across the ground, trying to find its legs) as the others continued their conversation.

"**I am truly sorry,**" the other voice said, her face pointed to the ground and as red as a beet. "**I assumed she remained dormant, but it appears I was wrong...**"

"Let's remember to never bring up weight around JoJo again..." Yosuke said, clutching his now broken arm. The black eye he had on his left eye was just one of many other injuries he sustained. He was convinced his ribs were powder by that point...

"Agreed..." Chie moaned out, back to the floor.

"But what's the whole deal here?" Yosuke asked, ignoring the burning pain that encompassed his entire body. He never thought she'd hit harder than a truck... "Like, why are you possessing JoJo?"

"**I am afraid that I cannot explain,**" it said, looking off into the fog. "**I have already made multiple mistakes in trying to adhere to Causality.**"

"'Causality'?" Chie asked, picking herself up off the ground. She was going to miss those teeth...

"**Yes,**" the voice said, making JoJo's head nod. "**It is vital that certain events play out the way that they must. Even telling you this may have harmed the time line.**"

"T-Time line!?" Yosuke asked, eyes white and wide.

"**I have said too much,**" the voice said. "**The girl has the strength to reach your goal by herself. I am relinquishing control for now. Do not mention any of this to her!**"

Chie and Yosuke stood perplexed as JoJo's eyes dimmed from the yellow back to her usual gray ones. She stumbled as control was given back to her, causing her to fall to her knees. She clenched her skulls as her friends ran to her.

"Are you okay!?" Chie demanded, grabbing hold of her friend to keep her from falling to the ground.

"Wh-Where are we...?" JoJo asked weakly. Her skin was pale, and just touching her burned Chie's hand. Whatever was wrong with JoJo was bad, really bad. A sharp, agonizing cough sent shudders down their spines. JoJo shivered as her condition was all too willing to show how sick she was.

"JoJo!" Yosuke shouted, looking her in the eyes. "Are you... _you_ again?"

"What...?" she asked in confusion. JoJo retched as her throat tightened. Her friends could only watch as she vomited the soup Nanako made for her onto the ground. Chie pat her back when the torrent of half-digested food turned into dry gags.

"Guys!" they heard the bear call to them. They all turned to see the creature standing next to the group, his wounds healed good as new. So well healed that they appeared to have never existed whatsoever. "I'm all better now!"

"Mister Bear..." JoJo hissed out, stretching a hand out to touch his fur. It jumped back the second it saw the limb come for him, another boyish scream puncturing the air around them.

"Wh-What~!?" the bear asked fearfully, shaking like a leaf on the wind.

"Let me pet you..."

"Come on," Chie said, wrapping one of JoJo's arms around her shoulders and lifting her to her feet. The height difference made it awkward as JoJo was still slumped down when Chie raised to her full height, but it would have to do. "Let's get out of here."

"Right!" the bear said adamantly, summoning the televisions from the sky once again. They all showed footage from the Electronics Department at Junes, all of the customers looking at the display television they entered. They could not help but be shocked at the sight. That home was just a few inches away. "Now get out and don't come back!"

JoJo raised a shaking hand, desperate to feel the bear's fur on her skin. Alas, Chie pulled her closer to the television, and out of reach.

"Wait," Yosuke said, stopping the girls' advance. "We can't go just yet."

"No," Chie said directly, staring Yosuke in the face. "We're going and that's that."

"Fine," Yosuke said, shrugging his shoulders. "You guys go ahead. Bear-thing-"

"I'm Teddie."

"-lame-but can you help me find something about Saki Konishi?" Yosuke asked, perplexing the rest of them.

"I don't know who that is..." the bear named Teddie admitted, his ears twitching every few seconds.

"Alright..." Yosuke said. He was silent after that. He placed a finger to his chin as he thought.

"Dude," Chie said, snapping him from his concentration. "Do you mind getting out of here with us before JoJo dies of the plague!?"

"If you guys want to leave," Yosuke snapped, "go right ahead! I'm not stopping you."

"But why are you staying!?" Chie asked, readjusting her grip on JoJo after almost falling to the ground.

"It was something that _thing_ said," Yosuke explained, turning to Chie and JoJo. "It said that we have to explore this place to find out why Saki died."

"Konishi-senpai's dead...?" JoJo asked in wonderment, reminding the two of JoJo's state.

"Yeah," Chie said simply, staring at Yosuke.

"That's sad..." said JoJo, who quickly fell asleep, still on her feet in Chie's arms.

"A-Anyway!" Yosuke shouted. He waved a hand in the air as the fog threatened to block out his friends. "It said that Chie can't be with us when we find out something."

"Who do you mean by 'us', then?" Chie asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I think it meant me and JoJo," Yosuke said, losing his voice the minute he saw how weak his friend was.

"Right, because she's totes the best for exploring dangerous places right now!" Chie shouted, stamping her foot at the argument.

"Come on, Eileen~..." JoJo sang to herself, her head swinging from side to side as she threatened to fall back asleep.

"Huh," Yosuke said, "did not know she could speak English."

"Not the point right now!" Chie said, her face red with anger. She thought she felt a blood vessel burst within her, but she tried not to think about that. "How do you expect to walk around in this fog anyway!? Got magic glasses, genius!?"

"Yeah," Teddie said simply, pulling out a pair of simple, gray glasses. The lenses were round and clear, and small. The frame was thin as well, the dark color compensating for the actual size of the glasses. They were no wider than a finger. In fact, they seemed more like a cosmetic item than one to be used for actual vision correction. "Why didn't you guys just ask before?"

Chie and Yosuke only stared as Teddie pulled out another pair, this one with orange siding. He placed the latter pair in Yosuke's hand, who stood as still as a statue. The other pair he placed on JoJo's head, who instantly perked up.

"Hey," Chie snipped at the bear, "where's my pair!?" JoJo removed herself from her friend's shoulder, looking down to scuff her skirt before seeing the outfit she was wearing and collapsing to the ground and wrapping her arms around herself in embarrassment.

"G-G-G-Gu-Guys!?" JoJo stammered out, desperate to pull her skirt down further, but to no avail. "W-W-W-Wh-Why a-am I-I wearing this!?"

"Long story," Yosuke and Chie said in unison.

"But wait," Chie continued, feeling JoJo's head and noticing how cool it was now. "Why aren't you sick anymore?"

"I don't care!" JoJo cried out, her whole body turning red. "I'm so embarrassed!"

"So where does that thing want us to go anyway?" Chie asked, ignoring JoJo's horrified face. The gray-haired girl rocked back and forth, muttering prayers about not letting anyone see her like that.

"I'm not too sure," Yosuke admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe... Hey, wait." He turned to Teddie, who stared at JoJo in fear. "How do you keep finding us?"

Teddie turned to Yosuke.

"Oh!" it said as he tapped his small, black nose. "I smell you guys!"

"Sm-Smell!?" JoJo whined out, furthering her psychological torment. She was sure that she showered that morning... but what if she didn't!

"Yeah," Teddie said as he looked to Yosuke. "I can tell when someone's here by their smell. It's _beary_ strange..."

"Di-Did," Yosuke stumbled over his words. "Did you just make a pun?"

"Guys!" Chie shouted, forcing them back on track once more.

"Right," Yosuke clenched the glasses in his hands as a migraine tore through his skull. He had no idea if they actually worked, mainly because the only one actually wearing them was sulking somewhere in the fog. "Can you still remember where you found them?"

"Of course!" Teddie claimed, hitting its chest with a fist. "I can find anything this old sniffer can pick up!"

"So do you know where the last person in here was!?" Yosuke asked, his tone sounding desperate and impatient. He grabbed Teddie's shoulders as he waited for the bear to answer.

"Well, sure," Teddie said, shaking off Yosuke's hands. "Do you want me to take you guys?"

"Obviously!" Yosuke ordered. "You've gotta take me to where you found them!"

"I can't just yet," Teddie said, turning away from Yosuke and shaking.

"Why not!?" Yosuke demanded. "What's keeping you from helping us find her!?"

He prayed that the bear would accept the pronoun and confirm his suspicions.

"Because you don't have your glasses on yet," Teddie answered, pointing to the pair in Yosuke's hand. "It's dangerous to wander around here blind. Especially with the Shadows..."

"Shadows?" Chie asked, her head feeling like a balloon that's about to pop. She rubbed her temple as best she could, but it did nothing to stop the pain. She felt like dying right there.

"Y-Yeah..." Teddie confirmed, chattering where he stood. "Those things are _beary _scary..."

"At the very least, use different puns..." Yosuke begged, putting on the glasses as instructed.

The difference was night and day. The fog that was there vanished the minute Yosuke put on the glasses. Not only that, but he felt better all around. The migraine that once felt like an icepick to the skull was gone. His stomach no longer turned and twisted, and the chill was gone. His body felt less stiff, more loose, and all around healthier than before.

"Whoa!" Yosuke said in excitement. "These things are great!"

"Which, again, makes me ask," Chie began clutching her skull, "why don't I get a pair!?"

"I only made the two!" Teddie said defensively, stamping his foot on the ground. "I didn't have enough time to make any more before you guys threw yourselves back in here again!"

"Uh... guys..." JoJo said, over her embarrassment enough to be back on her feet and staring off in another direction. "Was that always there?"

The group looked to see a sign standing at the end of the platform they stood on. Now that they had a good visual on their surroundings, they saw that everywhere they looked was like a cheap studio set. Metal girders stretched for miles, and spotlights littered them. But what caught their attention was the simple, wooden sign standing on the platform.

" '**Twenty-five-percent off deal, only at Konishi Liquors' **?" Yosuke read off, his head clear enough to give him the luxury he never truly appreciated before then.

"Why is that there?" JoJo asked in confusion, still covering up her chest and thighs as best she could.

"That's in the shopping district, right?" Chie asked, her ears ringing with a high-pitched whine that made her suffer.

"That's where I found that girl you're looking for," Teddie said, waddling up to and tapping the sign, "but I've never seen this thing before..."

It wasn't long before the sign turned an ink-black, melting down into a puddle, and scurrying off deeper into the world, leaving the group stunned and terrified.

"S-So th-that happened!" Yosuke said, turning to the girls. "JoJo?"

"S-See you guys! I-I'm gonna need to catch up on all that ho-homework I missed today!" JoJo said, trying to shove herself through one of the escape televisions Teddie summoned, but was foiled by Chie tugging on to her lower half and pulling her back in.

"Th-That was a Shadow!" Teddie said, his voice full of fright.

"That was it?" Yosuke asked, trying to sound brave. "Screw that then, let's get going and try to find some answers!"

"Guys..." Chie said, dazed and completely out of it. "I might actually need to get out of here..."

It was only a few seconds after wards that she accidentally fell into one of the escape screens, passing completely through. They all saw her eyes roll backwards in her head. She was gonna be out like a light on the store floor when they got back. Only Teddie, Yosuke, and JoJo were left. And the latter-most one debated on jumping through a screen herself and going home.

Yosuke's thoughts drifted to what that strange being that possessed JoJo said, that Chie wouldn't be involved from then on. Was that what it meant? She was in no condition to do much of anything, and their glasses were helping them tremendously in that gross fog. Maybe they could actually find something useful to give to the cops when they got out of there!

"Fuck it," Yosuke said, throwing his hands in the air, "let's go to the liquor store!"

* * *

_A/N_

So I finally got past that plot device...

I typed so much for this chapter that I'm worried that I may have stretched it a bit too far. Hopefully not, but the fear still applies.

Anyway, so we learned that JoJo/Misako (her friends still don't know her 'name') gets possessed by a being that knows how the events of the story are supposed to play out.

Now, will that include super embarrassing things? Of course it will, this is me we're talking about here.

So, I hope this chapter doesn't seem too scatterbrained for you guys. I literally just went with the flow for a bit until I reached a good point to stop. And I know the Chie thing seemed sudden. That's coming up later.

Until Next Time!


	11. Chapter 11

Buildings surrounded them. What was once a rickety, metal platform was now a small, concrete jungle. The clank of impacted metal became the soft thump of shoe on asphalt. Traditional style buildings were all around. They held signs that read out the names of shops, deals, or going out of business notices. The sky was a deep, horrifying red. It made the natural light of everything around them glow a toxic yellow. JoJo, Yosuke, and Teddie scanned the alleys and every other nook and cranny they could find. Their pace was quick and not willing to slow down.

"This place..." Yosuke said aloud, spotting a familiar building, "I think it's the shopping district." His eyes drifted to the Marykyu tofu, a shop he always walked past on his way to Junes. He swallowed the rock in his throat as the sights became more memorable. Daidara's, that weird smithing place with that guy with the weird scar; the Moel gas station; Tatsumi textiles. His skin had ants crawling beneath it.

"I'm scared..." JoJo muttered out, all but forcing her foot in front of the other. She felt blood rush to her face as the realization dawned on her. She wanted to hide again. Even though her classmate was dead, she wanted to run off and leave Yosuke to whatever was lurking in the dark. The realization made her sigh. A small, barely audible one that only she knew she made. JoJo could only stare at the ground as they continued.

"I think she was just up ahead," Teddie announced, his tiny feet squeaking as he stepped. The bear shivered like a leaf on a tree. His large, glass-like eyes were wide, pupils the size of pins. He moaned as they went on, discomfort becoming a spectacle. JoJo and Yosuke stole glances as the bear stared off into the dark corners they preferred to ignore. "I just really hope the Shadows don't show..."

"Dude," Yosuke said, turning his head to the bear. "Just stay calm. We'll snoop around and try to find some stuff, then we'll leave." He prayed that it would be that simple. But a sinking feeling in his gut warned otherwise. His eyes picked up on black figures that vanished moments later. It was impossible to even describe them. The mere moment his eyes caught one, it slipped away before he had time to process it.

"A-Are you su-sure...?" JoJo asked, her voice shaky as usual. In truth, she was more worried about what they'd find at their destination. JoJo could not help but feel that something terrible was about to happen. Her breath was short and hollow, her stomach felt like an oven and a freezer at the same time. She was sure that she heard something slither in the dark, but tried to dismiss it as the atmosphere getting to her.

"Totally," Yosuke said in confidence, "we'll be in and out in no time." He turned to the bear, who begged for a distraction with his jitters. Yosuke put a finger to his chin, remembering what he intended to bring up earlier. "Hey, man, I actually have a few questions about this place."

"This place...?" Teddie asked in confusion, the question mark all but floating over his head. "What about it?"

"Geez, where would I start?" Yosuke muttered to himself. He rubbed his neck with a hand as they stopped in the street, just outside of the local shrine. It didn't have the same smell of water and old wood that the actual shrine did. In fact, all he could smell was a pungent copper that clung to the air. It made every breath sting. "First of all, what even _is_ this place? And why is it in a TV!?"

"I don't know..." Teddie said begrudgingly, his arms drooped and his head lowered in shame. "It's always been like this. Just me and Shadows."

"Al-Always like this?" JoJo asked, her brow furrowed in befuddlement. She felt a button pop on her blouse, sadly just one size too small compared to her usual attire. Actually, now that she thought about it, she had a few questions of her own. They included, but were not limited to, HOW THE LIVING FUCK DID SHE GET THERE!?

But she decided to wait to ask that when they were no longer risking their lives for a big jerk that wouldn't even let her hug him once. It was just going to be for a few seconds...

"Yeah," Teddie, the jerk in question, confirmed. He gave a large nod, more of a headslam than anything, as a visual aid. "The fog stays around a lot too, but sometimes it disappears. The Shadows get really violent when that happens too, so I don't recommend being here when that happens."

"Yet we still don't even know what 'Shadows' are..." Yosuke groaned, rubbing his eyes, his glasses slid up onto his forehead. He tapped his foot as he thought of more questions. But there were so many in his head that it was impossible to think of a good one. The sheer amount of unanswered questions that he wanted to ask drowned his mind. From where the place came from to what Teddie even was, Yosuke had trouble figuring out what to ask.

"Guys..." JoJo said, catching their attention. She was turned facing the Konishi family liquor store. Her eyes wide and full of fear. JoJo turned into an ice statue, unable to move. Her mind struggled to take in the image she saw before her. She raised a rattling, skinny finger as they all saw what she pointed at.

A disgusting, dripping mass of black oil pushed its way through the doors of the liquor store. They didn't even open. It flowed through the bottom of the door, reforming into an orb of putrid fluid as it passed through. Horrid claws took shape as the abomination slid towards them. The ground behind it was moist with fluid, shining in the fluorescent light the street lights bathed the ground in. The creature's mask slipped out of the fluid, surfacing from the oil and brandishing itself on the monster.

"I-Is _th-that_ a Sh-Shadow!?" JoJo sputtered out, unable to lower her arm. Her words attracted its attention, turning its mask to her. It was a strange looking article. It reminded her of those masks indigenous tribes would wear. That thought was smacked out of her head when she realized how close it was getting to her. Those long, horrifying limbs tore at the ground, forcing its way to JoJo.

"Ye-Yeah!" Teddie screamed, running behind Yosuke. The bear covered his ears and shut his eyes, hoping it would just go away. But he knew it was in vain.

"Look out!" Yosuke shouted, grabbing JoJo's sleeve and pulling her just out of reach as the monster slashed at her with its claws. Those jagged, corrupted nails sent chills down his spine when he saw them up close. They pulsated with an energy that he could not describe. All he knew was that they needed to get into the liquor store _fast_.

Before they could even tell what happened, Yosuke grabbed onto JoJo's hand and ran into the glass double-doors of the liquor store. Teddie followed close behind, turning around to watch the Shadow slither back towards them at a lightning pace. They barely had enough time to close the door before it slammed into the glass, giant cracks splitting through after just one blow. The beast let out a howl that burrowed its way into their brains. It sounded far too alien for either to comprehend. It couldn't even described as animalistic. All three could only pray that the beast would not remember the trick it used to cross the door in the first place.

"I don't think this door's gonna last long!" Yosuke said, looking for anything he could use to block the door. Boxes of booze littered the shelves, all heavy and damn near immobile. If they had the ally of time, they could have used that as a makeshift barricade. However, another strike at the door quickly killed that plan.

"H-Here!" JoJo called from behind the counter. In her raised arm she held a golf-club. The head of it was large and thick, peddling the hope that it would make a somewhat decent weapon. The handle was soft and comfortable, providing the user with a stable swing.

"Seriously!?" Yosuke said as another blow to the door bent the frame, opening a hole for the creature to enter. It pooled into the store, mask locked onto the brown-haired boy as he grabbed the club. "Ah screw it!"

The strikes were wild and uncoordinated. He ended up hitting the ground more than the monster. Small dents in the tile only confirmed that Yosuke's strategy of closing his eyes and flailing his weapon around was a bad idea. Especially when he was sent flying into a stack of beer cans, long claw marks across his chest.

"Yosuke!" JoJo screamed in worry, too scared to move from behind the counter. She watched as the beast clawed its way to her, deciding its new target. "Yosuke!?"

"Hello, JoJo, did you finish your homework, because if not Chie will kick my ass...!" he answered, his voice shaking as he spoke from beneath the pile of cans. Only his feet were visible, the rest of his body covered with cans.

"Oh man..." JoJo squeaked out, seeing the Shadow get closer. Ever slither made her stomach turn. She looked in desperation for the club, unable to spot it from the cans. She laid her back against the counter, hearing the monster drag itself to her.

"_I'm don't want to die..._" she thought, clutching her knees to her chest. She whimpered as the beast got behind the counter, claws in her field of vision. Tears dripped as she waited for the inevitable strike.

"**No!**" That powerful voice boomed once again.

All were paralyzed as something unbelievable occurred. The Shadow squealed in pain, retreating through the door as oil spilled onto the floor. It made the entire store stink, more putrid than a rotting animal in an old dumpster. Teddie stared at the teenaged girl, who had one hand raised, the other pinned to the floor. Yosuke picked himself up off the ground, looking over the counter at JoJo.

Her mouth was opened wide, completely aghast at what occurred. What was once her voice only allowed a high-pitched whine to escape. Her eyes were nearly completely white, her pupils mere spots. But what drew their attention more was her arm.

It crackled with electricity...

Sparks flew from her palm while blue bolts of energy shot up her arm. The wall she faced was burnt to cinders. Fire speckled beneath the falling, blackened chips of paint. What was once a calender with a kitten in a tree was now a pile of ash on the floor. They all stared in wonder and horror as the energy snapped and popped. Her once short-sleeved blouse was completely burnt away. She sat on the floor of the liquor store, bra exposed, but she couldn't work up the mental power to be embarrassed.

Instead, they all joined together in one long, nice scream.

* * *

"Hu-What!?"

Chie snapped awake on the floor of Junes, a young housewife staring at her in worry. Chie's head remained unclear and full of fluff. Every thought brought pain to her entire being. It took all of her strength to pick herself up. She waved off the other woman's attempt to help, assuring her that she was fine. The stranger gave one final worried gaze before returning to her own day.

"_What happened again...?_" Chie thought, her memory full of holes.

She remembered something about that bear... and JoJo...

"Gah!" Chie yelped, a hand flying to her temple. It hurt far too much to think. She sat back down on the floor, rubbing her head in desperation for relief. Nails drove into her brain if she so much as squinted. She never imagined such pain in her entire life. Every cell was on fire, yet frozen solid. The smallest noise made her deaf, and the store was pretty fucking noisy, she had to say...

"_Th-That's right!_" she thought, finally remembering something. Her eyes shot to the television that weird doppelganger threw her and Yosuke through earlier that day. Despite the agony, it was coming back to her. The weird clothes, the push, the bear, the glasses.

"_They're still in there!_" Chie thought, her head snapping in all directions for a rope.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the television, the trio still screamed.

They screamed for what felt like hours. Their voices still strong and lasting, even despite the volume and intensity.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS UP WITH YOUR ARM!?" Yosuke shouted, breaking the monotonous harmonizing. He pointed a finger at JoJo's glowing limb.

"I DON'T KNOW!" JoJo admitted, swinging the limb in question, her right arm that sparked and sputtered with electricity, around to face Yosuke.

"WELL DON'T AIM IT AT ME!" he demanded, flying behind the counter himself as a lightning bolt shot across the store, exploding the wall behind him. The attacked section crumbled, exposing the red sky.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE'RE YELLING ABOUT!" Teddie cried, running around the store in circles. His squeaks echoed throughout the hauntingly empty store, one after the other in rapid succession.

"THE FACT THAT SHE JUST WENT EMPEROR-FUCKING-PALPATINE ON THAT THING!" Yosuke shot at the bear, smacking him as he crossed his path. The bear was stopped short, falling to the ground and rolling back and forth.

"G-Guys!" JoJo said, her eyes full of fright and tears. "H-Help me!"

"What are we gonna do?" Yosuke quipped sarcastically. "Hook you up to a car battery!?" He had to dodge another bolt of lightning. That one slightly more intentional than the last.

"Why didn't you tell us you knew how to do that!?" Teddie asked, approaching JoJo and staring at her arm. He gave a gasp in amazement, seeing the limb glow brightly in the dimly lit store. "That's so cool!"

"Because I didn't know I could do it!" JoJo said, clutching her limb against herself. Her arm felt strange, to say the least. Every bolt licked her skin, shocking it slightly. The sparks gave her palm a soothing warmth, almost relaxing her. Shooting the lightning sent a tingle down her spine that tickled her. "Wh-What's happening to me!?"

"_**You've awakened to your true power, dear child,**_" that soothing voice said in her mind. She felt herself relax at its every word, desperate to her more. "_**So now, you shall control me, and not have I control you.**_"

"Wh-Who are you!?" JoJo asked in panic, not realizing it was out loud. She scrambled to her feet, still unaware of her bare chest at that moment.

"_**I am Izanagi,**_" the voice said. Its growling tone and diction made it a distinct voice amongst the others she had heard through her life. "_**I shall guide you as your powers grow. This is just one of many, and you will need to use every one of them in order to survive the ordeals to come.**_"

"_What 'ordeals'!?_" JoJo thought to herself, trying to swallow a baseball.

"**I wish Junes would just go under...**" an unfamiliar voice said, sounding like a young woman. She saw Teddie and Yosuke look to the ceiling, scanning around the store as they tried to find the source.

"_**You shall soon learn...**_" Izanagi growled out one last time.

"**It's all because of that store...**" another voice said, this one older than the last, but not elderly.

"Wh-What the-!?" Yosuke said, his mind already exhausted from the last debacle with the Shadow. He wasn't sure if he could handle another scare like that...

"Oh, I heard Konishi-san's daughter works there!" yet another unseen voice chimed in.

"Oh my... how could she with her family business suffering like it is...?"

"I heard their sales went downhill because of Junes._"_

"St-Stop!" Yosuke shouted. He fell to his knees, his face to the floor.

"That poor father... to have his own daughter working for the enemy like that...**"**

"**What a trouble-some child..."**

The words sank in slowly and painfully. Silence once again graced them as they stood, paralyzed. More sparks flew from JoJo's arm, making her go red in the face and clutch it to herself once again. It was so foreign. So alien.

"What's up with this place!?" Yosuke shouted, rising to his feet again. He kicked the cans of beer that rolled in front of him, sending them flying into the darkness of the back of the store.

"**Saki!**" another voice, this one middle-aged and male, shouted. His tone was vicious, full of venom and rage. "**How many times do I have to tell you!?**"

"Senpai's... dad?" Yosuke asked aloud, meaning for it to be in his head instead.

"**You know what the neighbors are saying, right!?**" Saki's father continued his rant. "**Why aren't you in the least bit ashamed of yourself!? You're the eldest daughter of a family that's owned this store for **_**generations**_**! Is it for the money? Or did you meet some **_**guy **_**there? Just tell me why it had to be **_**there **_**of all places!**"

"N-No!" Yosuke shouted, throwing one of the cans into the blackness. "She had fun at work! If she was having problems like this, she'd tell us!" He picked up another can, readying his arm for another throw. "You expect me to believe that _this _was how Senpai really saw things!?"

He tilted his body back, ready to send the aluminum can of alcohol flying into the abyss that was the other half of the store. Even the hole in the right corner of the shop couldn't make a dent in the blackness. It was as though someone blotted out that section with ink, blinding anyone that ventured deeper. His foot slipped on something. Stopping himself from falling to the floor, he slid the culprit to his view.

It was a tattered photograph. Yosuke picked up and examined it. It was him and Saki posing with the other Junes employees for a group picture. Yosuke wore his trademark grin while Saki held up a peace sign, smiling into the camera. Yosuke saw a large chunk of the right corner was torn off, nearly taking Saki's head off with it. Yosuke, who was to her left, had a large, black dot covering the top half of his face, only his mouth was visible and showing his smile.

"What the...?" Yosuke asked as he studied the picture. His eyes drifted to the floor, trying to spot the missing piece. The other two stared at him in wonder as he tried to find the other half of the photograph.

"_**I never got the chance to say it...**_" They all heard a familiar voice say.

"S-Saki!?" Yosuke said, clenching the picture in his fist as his gaze shot back to the ceiling.

"_**I always wanted to tell Hana-chan...**_"

The pause was torturous. They sat on pins and needles as they waited for her next words.

"_**That he was a pain in the ass!**_"

"Ouch..." JoJo said, looking towards Yosuke. The boy stood as still as a statue, taking the words to heart. He didn't have so much as a frown. Only a blank slate covered his face, completely in shock.

"_**I was only nice to him because he was the manager's son, and he went and took it completely the wrong way... what a dip!**_"

"N-No..." Yosuke stood firm, his fists held tight. He stood tall, refusing to accept what he was hearing. "Senpai's not like that. None of this can possibly be true!"

"_**Who cares about Junes anyway!? Thanks to that place my whole family hates me, the neighbors talk behind our back, our business is ruined, and everyone thinks I'm a traitor! … I just want everything to disappear...**_"

"Bullshit!" Yosuke shouted, his teeth grit. He picked the club up off the ground, swinging it into one of the shelves. Booze of all kinds flew through the air as Yosuke released his rage. "This is all just some kinda trick! Saki's not like that, I know she isn't!"

A dark aura was felt. They all turned to the black corner of the store, seeing one of the tossed cans roll its way back into the light.

"**~It's so sad...~**" a warped, cackling voice said. It left the darkness, exposing itself to the group.

Yosuke couldn't find the words to describe a single sensation he felt. His hands shook, mind faltered, legs turned to gelatine.

Teddie whimpered, hiding behind the counter as soon as the figure arrived. His small squeaks echoed in the store.

JoJo had a reaction that summed it up pretty well.

"AH!" she screamed, aiming her glowing arm at the figure. "EVIL YOSUKE!"

The bolt she sent out flew through the air. The hairs on everyone's neck stood straight as the wave of energy cracked through the open space.

Unfortunately, the figure merely lifted his hand, allowing the bolt to hit it and sent it flying back through the already open hole in the back of the store.

It was just as JoJo described. The being in front of them mimicked Yosuke in almost every way. The same uniform, the same hairstyle, the same snide grin, even the same headphones. The only difference between the two was that the sadistically smiling one had bright, piercing yellow eyes. And all around him, a dark wave of energy flowed around him. It took all they could to look at him and not lose their nerve.

"**~Nice tits, by the way~,**" the second Yosuke said, being the first to address JoJo's lack of a shirt.

"What the...?" the girl in question looked down, confirming that she wore nothing on her top half but her black, lace bra.

"KYYYYAAAAA!"

* * *

_A/N_

Got another chapter done. Yay.

Also, Happy New Year! Can't Believe the Earth is already 18 and totally legal!

But anyway, now you see what I mean by changing what the Personas did with JoJo. It's gonna be fun, so I won't spoil nothing. Just know that some may not be as obedient as others.

Also, I included a reference to DBZ Abridged, for you kids that like that thing. You whipper-snappers...

Until Next Time!


	12. Chapter 12

The trio stared in horror as the other Yosuke chuckled darkly. His eyes were closed, and he tapped his foot on the cold, hard tile of the liquor store. The real Yosuke was pinned where he stood. All thoughts were frozen in his skull. The golf club he held slipped from his grasp. The aluminum tool clattered as it struck the ground. That warped, demonic laugh drowned Yosuke. His breath was hard and heavy, unable to get enough oxygen. He couldn't even sweat.

"**~Sucks, doesn't it?~**" the second Yosuke asked casually, staring down the real one. Those golden eyes burned Yosuke's eyes. No matter how hard he fought, he couldn't help but stare into those horrid orbs. His mind was set alight whenever his gaze slid too close. Hands flew to his hair, clawing at his skull. A pressure unlike anything he could have known crushed his brain.

"Wh-What!?" Yosuke choke out, collapsing to his knees when the pain got too intense. That twisting in his gut returned. The one he thought he cured with the glasses. He retched on the floor as his double stepped over to him, humming a cheery tune as he watched the real Yosuke writhe in pain.

"**~Being stuck out in the sticks,~**" the fake said, sitting atop Yosuke's back, checking his nails. Those bright eyes drifted around the store, seeing JoJo still crumpled to the floor, trying to cover herself and tomato red. The bear, Teddie, rolled on the floor, screaming something about an evil monster being there and that they were going to die.

"Wh-What... _are you_...?" Yosuke garbled out, all energy leaving his body as the double sat atop his back. It was like a leech draining his blood. He felt his bones bend as the twin shifted more weight onto him.

"**~I mean, to tell the truth,~**" Yosuke Two said, feeling his strength grow. That chuckle subsided as he got off the real Yosuke's back. The steps echoed in the empty store. The malevolent one crouched down, closing the distance to Yosuke's pale, sweating face. "**~I'm really the one that thinks everything is a pain in the ass.~**"

"N-No!" Yosuke barked, forcing himself to his feet. His legs convulsed under him, sending him to the floor before he caught the shelf next to him. That pounding in his head returned with a vengeance. A copper smell flooded his nostrils. A shaking hand to his nose brought a wet sensation to his palm. His fading vision gave him enough time to see the blood on his hand. "Th-That's not true!"

"**~Haha!~**" the evil version laughed. It was a cruel, sadistic laugh. His mouth was open, sharp incisors accentuated like a predator animal. That dark cloud around him grew, shifting around like tentacles. "**~How long are you gonna keep deluding yourself!?~**"

"Sh-Shut up!" Yosuke screamed, grabbing the attention of the other two.

"Yosuke!" JoJo shouted. She picked herself off the ground, observing the scene around her. Teddie's squawking, squeaking feet made their way to JoJo's side. She heard the bear gasp as he watched. Her body shifted forward, preparing itself to run to Yosuke and pull him out of there. Thoughts of utter terror flooded her mind, keeping her feet planted where she stood.

"**~Screw the shopping district, and Junes too!~**" the insidious figure said. He kept his gaze locked onto Yosuke, who convulsed on the floor as another wave of pain crashed into him. "**~You're sick of it all. Especially with living out in the middle of nowhere.~**"

"What... are you... saying-!?" Yosuke forced from his throat. Blood spilled from his nose, staining his uniform. "That's not true!"

"**~You've got to put on a show of being happy and go lucky because you're scared shitless of being alone,~**" the fake Yosuke said, tearing through all of the defenses the real one built. He snickered as Yosuke crumpled to the ground once again. A painful, bone-chattering cough filled the air from Yosuke, his hands clutching his throat. "**~The act was so pathetic, even **_**I **_**wanted to kick your ass.~**"

"W-We have to do something!" JoJo said, turning to Teddie. The bear shook where he stood. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a plan. That arm of hers already failed once, and she wasn't too confident in trying it for a second time. The crackling taunted her, mocking her for cowardice.

"**~And what's this about checking out this place for Saki-senpai's sake?~**" the creature of a boy asked cruelly. Yosuke's eyes shot to the fake. Despite the agony, he refused to let the pseudo-Yosuke's words fly over his head. His hand refused to listen to him, tightening and opening wildly as the seizure continued. "**~Haha... you know damn well why you really came here.~**"

"St-Stop!" Yosuke begged, more pain infecting him.

"**~Hmm...~**" Fake Yosuke hummed as he put a finger to his chin. "**~Why so panicked? I thought I was just spouting bullshit. Unless you **_**know **_**that I'm telling the truth...!~**"

"No!" Yosuke shot back, picking himself off the floor, feeling the pain subside. "You _are _just spouting out bullshit! None of what you're saying is making any sense!"

"**~Or maybe...~**" Fake Yosuke offered, putting a hand on the real one's shoulder, who was too weak to force it off. "**~I **_**am **_**telling the truth. I know **_**every little thing **_**you're thinking. You know why? Because I **_**am**_** you!~**"

Yosuke fell to the floor once again. The convulsions were more aggressive. His body shook on the floor like a surfaced fish. Every word stole his breath, his throat tightening. The fake him put his shoe on Yosuke's back, kicking him onto his back. The shoe smashed into his ribs, sticking there like it was driven from a nailgun.

"**~You stayed here because you thought it'd be a good time,~**" evil Yosuke hissed. His shoe stayed tight on Yosuke's chest. "**~I mean, what else is there to do in this ghost town? A world in the TV... now **_**that's **_**exciting! You didn't have any other reason, did you!?**"

"St..." Yosuke whimpered out, trying to get his tongue to work again. "Sto-Stop..."

"**~You're trying to act like a bigshot!~**" his double snapped at him once again. He wore a scowl as he pressed his foot harder onto Yosuke's chest, choking him. "**~If all went well, hey, maybe you could be a hero! And that senpai you were so sweet on? Her death was a perfect excuse!~**"

"Who... are... you...?" Yosuke said, finding the strength to speak. He laid stuck to the floor, his brain burnt and gone.

"**~Already told ya,~**" the evil him said, "**~I'm you... Your **_**Shadow**_**. There's nothing I don't know about you.~**"

"Th-_That's _a Shadow!?" JoJo shrieked, shaking like a scared kitten. Her eyes stared down to Teddie, praying for answers.

"You... can't be... me..." Yosuke said, his limbs heavy and immobile. His hardened his face into a scowl. "You... son of a bitch..."

The cackle made the trio go white. It was dark, menacing, and entirely psychotic. The Shadow laughed long and hard. He slapped his leg as he kept going. Those bright eyes of his glowed like stars, painting his form as a silhouette against the light.

"**~That's right!~**" Shadow Yosuke screamed, a wide grin on his face. "**~Say it again!~**"

"You're... not... _me_..." Yosuke growled, picking himself up once again. His new found strength was welcome, finally not suffering on the ground. "You... are _nothing _like me!"

"**~Hmph,~**" the Shadow huffed, a dark smirk on his face. "**~That's true. I'm **_**me **_**now. I don't need you anymore...~**"

The dark aura around the Shadow exploded. Yosuke flew through the air, slamming into the counter next to JoJo and Teddie. They rushed to his side, checking for wounds and making sure he was still alive. While they did this, a bright, blinding light saturated the store. They saw pure white, even though their eyes were closed. When it subsided, they saw something that made their bowels freeze.

A horrid beast stood where the Shadow once stood. It had a frog-like body, its toes had the pads frogs had, large and cartoonish. Its skin was a camouflage green, covering its whole body except for a small, black figure that sat on top of the frog. That small figure had massive hands, a tight red scarf wrapped around its throat. It was more of a shadow than an actual person; its skin a charcoal black. The eyes were a strange star shape, making it all the more alien. A large V-shaped mouth, permanently locked into a grin, stayed on the frog body, towering over them. Two glowing red eyes illuminated the trio in a bath of crimson light. JoJo and Teddie stared at the creature in absolute horror.

"**~I am the Shadow... the True Self,~**" the beast roared, the store collapsing around them. Instead of the rest of the corrupted town being exposed, they sat in the midst of an empty studio. Monitors covered the metallic girders around them, all having empty, black screens. The platform was entirely empty, just them and the monster. Not a single streetlight could have been seen for miles around. "**~ And I'm gonna crush anything that bores me... including you!~**"

The monster threw one of its massive frog legs at the trio. The sound of it cutting through the air dwarfed a tank shell. The force alone caused the girders to groan.

"AH!" JoJo screamed, firing lighting at the Shadow. Her eyes were clenched shut, not willing to look at the mistake she no doubt made. She knew the pain was inevitable, but she didn't want to see it coming. Oh God, it was going to hurt so bad! Her bones would be crushed, her skull cracked, organs crushed, lungs perforated, brain hemorrhaged, intestines revealed- what was taking the thing so long?

"It's paralyzed!" Teddie shouted. His foot squeaked as he took a step.

JoJo opened her eyes to see that the bear spoke the truth. The Shadow frog laid on its back, lamenting in pain. Her arm sparked and smoked, having just fired the bolt of lightning. A wide smile grew on her face as the realization of what she did sank in.

"Oh my God..." JoJo said aloud. She looked deep into her glowing palm. "I'm a badass!"

"**~You bitch!~**" the Shadow howled, contorting back into its position. Heavy booms shook the platform as the frog legs slammed into the thin metal. Teddie found himself hopped into the air more than once as the monster took its 'steps'.

"Eep..." JoJo squeaked herself, the new found confidence long gone. She threw herself behind Teddie, trying to hide her much larger form behind the smaller bear.

"**~This is for my bike, you fat-assed slut!~**" the Shadow roared, raising one of its legs for another strike.

"What did you say...?" JoJo asked, her voice no longer shaking. Neither was her body. She was completely still.

"**~I said I'm gonna kill you!~**" it screamed, rage in its voice. The leg cast a massive shade on the trio. Teddie chattered, his voice whimpering.

"No you didn't..." JoJo said simply, her head still hidden by Teddie. "You called me something..."

"**~I called you a slut,~**" Shadow Yosuke snipped, his voice unamused and impatient. "**~Now, it's smashing time!~**"

"You called me something before 'slut'..." JoJo continued. Her grip tightened around Teddie's fur, digging into the bear. Her teeth grit. Rage flooded her being. Red filled her vision, and not from the glowing eyes of the frog.

"O-Oh no!" he wailed, his boyish voice breaking as he spoke. "You have no idea what you've just done!"

"**~I called you a fat-ass!~**" Shadow Yosuke screamed, his leg dropping like an asteroid at the terrified bear, and the hidden teen girl. "**~You're huge butt broke my bike! It hasn't been the same because of you!~**"

Teddie ran as fast as he could, dragging Yosuke by the foot behind him. He searched desperately for a place to hide. All he could do was pray that there would be something left once it was all over. Teddie threw himself over a turned over girder, Yosuke following behind. Teddie threw his little blue paws over his ears, shutting his eyes tight. A weak hand tapped on the bear's side.

"Ted-Teddie...?" Yosuke groaned out, finally haven awoken from his forced slumber. "Wh-Where's JoJo?"

"Oh, it's more horrible than I thought!" Teddie screamed, failing to resist the urge to watch the girl and the beast.

"I-Is she okay!?" Yosuke demanded, grabbing a hold of the girder and pulling himself on top of it, his chest resting on the cold metal. The sight was unforgettable.

The Shadow's foot slammed onto the ground, sending a shockwave throughout the platform. The raw power blew back Yosuke's hair. He raised an arm to cover his eyes. The boy knew he saw JoJo standing at the impact sight, not moving an inch. His heart sank when the realization hit him as hard as the blow would have.

"J-JOJO!" Yosuke cried, reaching his arm out, but unable to pull himself further. Energy sapped itself from his body. His throat let out short, quickening wails of sorrow. He forced himself to hold it together. Tears dotted his eyes. He lost another one.

"**~What the-!?~**" the Shadow cried. It pushed its leg harder to the ground. No matter how much strength it put in, a strange resistance kept its leg from meeting the metal floor. The resistance grew in strength, pushing its leg _upwards_. It wasn't long before the beast fell back over, confused and enraged. "**~H-How!?~**"

A sight that shocked them all. There, on the platform, stood JoJo. Her eyes glowed bright. A deep yellow much like the Shadow when it was Yosuke, and when they were pushed into the TV. In her hand was the golf-club Yosuke wielded earlier, tight in her hand like a sword to a Samurai. Her face no longer held the apprehension that she was known for. No fear. No shame. No embarrassment. It was hardened. A scowl worthy of a true warrior.

"You mentioned her butt, didn't you?" Yosuke called to the monster, the black figure at the top turning its head to him.

"**~Shut up!~**" it answered, throwing a leg at JoJo for a heavy smack. It rocketed through the air, another shockwave mere centimeters behind it. It held enough momentum to kill any human being and the town they lived in with them. Shadow Yosuke couldn't help but laugh as he was sure that the girl would die to the attack.

Until she raised her arm in the air.

The attack was blocked. An explosion the size of a nuclear blast sent more metallic groans into the air. The platform shifted and shook at the sudden stop. The Shadow fell over on its side, its energy transferring to its whole and sending the beast to the ground. Even the two hidden behind the fallen over girder were sent flying, smashing against massive spotlights that sat on the platform.

The Shadow threw its gaze at JoJo, her left arm flexed at a perpendicular position. Her forearm stayed still in the air, dug into the thick, slimy flesh of the frog leg it interrupted. In her right hand, the golf-club crackled with electricity. The head of the club glowed a bright orange, the heat building in that spot. The floor beneath her were assaulted with bolts of energy. The teen girl was a walking generator. Electricity snapped and cracked all around her.

"Ya shouldn't have done that..." JoJo said, a sneer on her lips.

A thunderclap erupted in the air. A bolt of lightning shot from the sky, striking JoJo where she stood. Her eyes glowed brighter, forcing out the darkness around them. She aimed her right arm at the Shadow, fingers making a gun shape. That same sneer still stuck to her face. One eye shut, taking aim at the massive, defenseless monster.

"BANG!" she screamed, another bolt flying from her pointer finger and into the Shadow before her. The howls of the beast echoed around them. It shook and writhed, limbs slamming all around it. The figure on its back clutched its skull. Smoke rose from Yosuke's Shadow, cooked thoroughly by the lightning.

Yosuke stared at the girl, his mouth agape. He was... there were no words. JoJo sparked like a malfunctioning Christmas light, and she just killed that gigantic monster. It was yet another thing that made that day one of the weirdest ones he had lived. The one when he was eight with the clown still remained number one, though.

"Guys!" she shouted, waving her left hand in the air when she spotted her friends. She jogged her way to them, running past the smoking remains of the Shadow. Her smile was a mile wide. The power coursing through her veins made her confident. She just saved her friends with it! Nothing could make her feel useless again!

"JOJO, LOOK OUT!"

Until the Shadow grabbed her...

The grip was tight. Bone crushingly so. In the Shadow's amphibious foot, JoJo was pinned. She shook in its hold as the monster got back up. The growls it made caused JoJo to become a scared kitten all over again. She couldn't move. Mercy was not on the mind of the monster as it tightened its prison. JoJo shouted, feeling her ribs crushed by the beast.

"GAH!" she shrieked, pain over wracking her system. Her eyes were shut tight. Thoughts of death flowed in her head. Her hair flowed in the air as the Shadow lifted her in the sky.

"**~Thought you killed me, didn't you, bitch!?~**" Shadow Yosuke howled. It knew its plan would work that time. No more magic tricks! Just a whoosh and a crunch!

"He-Hel-!" JoJo gargled, silenced by another clench by the Shadow. Every breath was agony. Sharp knives driven into her chest.

"**~It's about time you get crushed!~**" the darker self proclaimed. Its foot flew down to the floor. The power was horrifying. Dust flew around them, creating massive clouds that acted like a smokescreen.

"Oh my God!" Yosuke shouted. He had enough strength to get back to feet. He wiped the lenses of his glasses, clearing his vision. "There's no way..." he whimpered, unable to handle what he was seeing. "There's no way that he's me!"

"**~Oh Hell yeah!~**" Shadow Yosuke shouted, a tingle going through its body. "**~Power boost!~**"

The dust cleared to show JoJo collapsed onto the ground. She wasn't moving a muscle. Her skirt was torn and nothing more than rags. What was left of her shoes were just chunks of broken plastic and fiber that fell off her feet in sheets. Her bra barely clung on. Luckily, she was on her back or else it _wouldn't _have clung on in the first place. Blood trickled from her mouth, just enough to stain her teeth a light pink.

"Is she okay?" Teddie asked, his eyes stuck on JoJo's unconscious form. His whines caught Yosuke's attention, who limped his way to Teddie's side and focused his sight on JoJo as well.

"No..." Yosuke answered simply, his voice dark. "We've got to get her out of there now!"

"But it's still too dangerous!" Teddie countered, paws on the sides of his head and shaking the latter worriedly. "That Shadow is still going berserk!"

"Why?" Yosuke interrogated, clutching the bear's shoulder to support himself. "Why won't that thing just stop!?"

"I don't know," Teddie said, still watching the scene. "But we have to find a way to beat it before it comes for us."

"Wait!" Yosuke shouted, pushing the bear away and huddling against the girder once again. He hissed as the pain stung him once again. Teddie raised a fist at the push, before he saw what he was staring at.

"Where'd she go...?" Teddie asked.

JoJo was gone. The spot she laid on, completely unconscious, was empty. Not a trace of her existence remained. Not a drop of blood, not an imprint in the floor, not even a gray hair was there. The dust settled, the Shadow returning to vision.

"**~Ugh...~**" it groaned. That warped voice struck their ears in a strange way. They were used to swells of anger, a bit of blatant narcissism, maybe a touch of sadism; but the voice sounded odd by comparison. "**~Pain... in the... ass...!~**"

The monster crumpled to the floor. Motionless once again. This time, however, the creature melted down. A thick, black oil spilled onto the platform as the body broke down. Cracks and snaps were heard as the physical form of the monster rotted away. The fluid turned into a small lake on the elevated metal island they stood on. The stench alone choked Yosuke and Teddie, who both retched and coughed when the fluid reached their girder.

"God, it smells like a used jockstrap!" Yosuke coughed out, tears dotting his eyes for a completely different reason that time.

Another flash of light blinded the two. The white bathed Yosuke and Teddie, who had to grit their teeth to deal the migraine. They still had no idea what just happened. It refused to make sense in their skulls. JoJo was there, but then she was gone and the Shadow just... died? But JoJo was barely hanging on the last time she 'fought' it. Why the sudden heel turn?

When the light vanished, they were back in the liquor store. The shelves still held all of the booze. The counter still had a dent from Yosuke's back crashing into it. Lights were still gone, and the store was as dark as night. The corner was still missing from JoJo's lightning. Even the second Yosuke was there.

The Shadow scrambled on the ground, on its hands and knees. Its smirk was gone. Instead, it held a face of fear. They could hear shallow breaths coming from the Shadow, who curled into a fetal position as it too realized where they were. Yosuke could only stare at the pathetic figure before them, hearing it sob and cower away from them.

"No way..." he said, crouching down to the Shadow's level. His heart hurt seeing the figure. The connection was undeniable. "Y-You can't...!"

"Yosuke..." Teddie said, the human turning his head to the bear. "That thing came from you. If you keep denying it, it'll attack us again."

Yosuke turned back to the Shadow, which covered its face with its arms. His mind screamed at him what he denied with all of his might. He placed a hand on the Shadow's shoulder, sighing as he began to speak.

"He's right," Yosuke said, turning to... _his _Shadow... "I knew you weren't lying. But... damn it hurts to face yourself. I was too ashamed to admit you were right."

The Shadow lowered its arms, looking at Yosuke with those bright, yellow eyes.

"You're me," Yosuke began, standing up. He offered a hand to his Shadow, who accepted it and rose with him. "And I'm you. When you think about it, all of this is me."

The Shadow gave a cheesy grin, placing a hand behind its neck. It vanished without a word, sinking into the blackness. A flash of light blinded Yosuke for the last time, this one much quicker and less powerful. Teddie and Yosuke found themselves staring at a ghostly figure hovering before them. It wore a clean white outfit. Its hands were frog-like, much like the monster's, but they were smaller and less menacing. A golden V covered its chest, its smaller black head made insignificant by the feature. The figure condensed down into a smaller form, floating down into Yosuke's hand. It was a small Tarot-style card.

"Jiraiya...?" Yosuke said, his tone unsure and confused. Knowledge flowed into his mind, acting as though he knew it for years. "My... Persona...?" Yosuke stared into the darkness, finally having a moment to catch his breath. His foot crunched a piece of paper on the ground. Yosuke moved his foot, seeing it was the photograph he found earlier. "Huh. You know, when we heard senpai's voice, I wonder if that was all what she kept hidden deep down..." he kicked the photo into the air, a sad smile on his face. "'He was a real pain in the ass', huh? What a way to find out-"

The touching moment was interrupted by JoJo's sudden return, who proceeded to leap out of nowhere and send her foot to Yosuke's crotch. The boy was sent flying into the air, slamming into the ceiling, and falling back down to the floor. He curled into a ball, hands over his genitals, as the teenaged girl announced her arrival.

"SO EVERYTHING IT SAID WAS WHAT YOU WERE THINKING, HUH!?" JoJo screamed, completely drenched in that black fluid the Shadows bled. She looked as though she bathed in ink, skin blacker than the sky itself. "YOU THINK I'M SOME BIG-BUTTED SLUT!?"

Yosuke groaned on the ground, unaware that his soon-to-be-murderer would interpret his acceptance of his Shadow in that way.

"You know," he hissed out, pain focused on his genitals, "you're a lot cuter when you're shy..."

"SHUT UP, I'M MAD AT YOU!"

* * *

The trio left the liquor store, making their way back towards the exit. Yosuke held onto Teddie, who stood far away from JoJo. The teen girl still seethed with pure hatred. She refused to look at the two as they walked, and none wanted to break the silence between them. They stayed that way until they reached the televisions stacked high into the sky. The ice refused to break even when Yosuke pushed himself off of Teddie, wrapping an arm around JoJo.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard..." Yosuke groaned, earning a large shove from his assistant.

"Oh, sorry," JoJo said in spite, "that's just my _big butt._"

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Only when you say you're sorry and then die!" JoJo huffed her nose high in the air.

"But seriously," Yosuke said, changing the topic as quick as he could, "how did you do all of that stuff? That thing should've killed you ten times over!"

"I don't really know," JoJo admitted, noticing some of the putrid smelling oil rub off on Yosuke. "But none of what it did really hurt too bad. It felt like I was on auto-pilot most of the time. I was pretty scared, to be honest..."

"And how exactly did you beat it?" Teddie asked, confusion thick on his furry face. "Me and Yosuke lost track of you until you came back and kicked him."

Her eyes went wide, face darkened, and grip on Yosuke's arm tightened.

"I don't want to talk about it..."

"You're hurting my arm," Yosuke said, trying to pry the girl's hands off of him.

"Let's just go..."

"Goodbye Yosuke!" Teddie said while waving a tiny hand at them. He was not fond of the oil on his fur, unable to escape a surprise hug from JoJo a few miles back. "Goodbye, Sensei!"

"Hey, what the Hell!?" Yosuke shouted as he was pushed through the television by JoJo, who followed immediately after.

* * *

The clamor and chatter of Junes was a welcome, long-missed sound. The stench of industrial cleaner never made them feel so safe. Yosuke and JoJo stayed where they laid, which was a ball of limbs on the floor, too relieved to move. It wasn't until they heard rapid, sharp footsteps, the ones made by tennis shoes, coming towards them did they get to their feet.

Once again, they were surrounded by shoppers and pedestrians alike. Though they were blind, retarded drones that did nothing but buy the thing that had the blinkiest lights, they felt like dear friends the teens that just escaped what could only be described as a nightmare.

Chie's foot to Yosuke's crotch sent her feelings to the boy in her own strange way. Followed by a sad wail and a tight hug to JoJo.

"You guys came baaack!" Chie cried, wrapping her arms around JoJo's midsection. "I woke up,and you guys were gone, so I went to go find a rope, but then I got lost, and then-!" her voice fell apart, devolving into sobs of pure happiness as she hugged her friend. Who was wearing more clothes the last time she saw her...

"JoJo..."

"Yeah?"

"You do know you're naked, right?"

The grey haired girl looked down, seeing her breasts and special happy hole (what her mother always called it) was on full display.

"Chie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you please kill me?"

* * *

_A/N_

Got another chapter down. Thank God we finally got past the first Shadow battle. XD

Type it all out while watching Good Eats on Netflix. :3

So now we're back to the high school shenanigans. I don't know what I'm more excited for.

Until Next Time!


	13. Chapter 13

"Come on, JoJo," Chie pleaded, resting her head against the bathroom stall door. She clenched a fist as her migraine turned her brain into soup. "You can't really expect to hide in there forever, do you?"

"Yes I do!" JoJo retorted, her voice broken like glass, "I'm never coming out!"

They both stood in the Junes Woman's bathroom. It was a tight, cramped place. Only three stalls ran across the wall, two of which were out of order and had no doors. The only one that worked and had a functioning door that closed off the rest of the world was the one at the corner of the room, the one JoJo occupied. The perfumed stench of air freshener tickled Chie's nose like a feather. Altogether there were five people in the restroom, two of which including Chie and JoJo.

Chie turned her head to the other patrons of the bathroom they stood in, all extremely confused women of varying ages. An elderly woman wearing a sunvisor tapped her foot impatiently, arms crossed across her chest. Her eyebrow was raised high in the air, sending condescending thoughts directly into Chie's mind.

"She-uh..." Chie scrambled for an excuse. Her mind raced for an answer as to why her friend locked herself in a bathroom stall and refused to leave. The fact she was naked was certainly not a detail to include. It was almost impossible to see a human being run as fast as JoJo did when the fiasco began. One second, they all enjoyed a tearful reunion, the next they ran like chickens with no heads across Junes. Yosuke to grab her some clothes from the lost and found, JoJo to the nearest bathroom to hide her shame, and Chie following close behind the female former. A light-bulb popped in her head when an idea struck her. "She had a fight with her boyfriend..."

"So she locked herself up in the shitter?" the surprisingly foul-mouthed old woman said, her tacky Khakis clashing with the faded black tee she wore.

"She's really sensitive...?" Chie offered, her tone betraying her every step of the way. Silence flooded the bathroom. Chie's eyes went wide when she realized that JoJo was listening when she made her claim, something she felt utterly retarded for forgetting in the first place...

"_Please... don't spaz out now..._" she mentally begged JoJo. Now was not the time for another one of her weird tantrums/rants/rage episodes.

"Oh, that's so sad," one of the other women said, this one a middle-aged, plainly dressed, average-faced one. Every detail about her could be described as 'plain', down to the way she wore her hair. Her white blouse, business skirt and jacket, her ebony black heels. It screamed to Chie that the woman was another cog in the corporate Hell-hole she thought about burning to ashes every day. The distinct lack of a wedding ring was the only thing that peaked Chie's interest, feeling a chill go down her spine.

"What," the only other teenaged girl in the bathroom said, not looking up from her phone as she blew a bubble with her gum, "the guy a jerk or something?" The girl's long, black hair reminded Chie of Yukiko's. And that gray school uniform looked a lot like...

"_Oh... crap!_"

* * *

Yosuke tore at the pile of clothes in front of him, trying to find something that would work. He stood in the Junes back office, surrounded by monitors displaying security footage from the entire store. Thankfully, there were none in any of the restrooms. Or else the situation they found themselves in would have gotten much more complicated.

"_There's got to be something in this pile of...!_" Yosuke trailed off as the lost and found pile graced him with an outfit he already felt the foot in his crotch for. He sighed at the clothes in front of him, the only ones he could estimate would fit JoJo.

"I'm so dead..."

* * *

She shouldn't panic. She _couldn't _panic! If she panicked, then the phone girl would look up and recognize her from _the class they have together_! It never struck Chie until she saw the uniform. It was a Yasogami High one. And if that wasn't bad enough, but she ran into her more than once. Occasionally, Chie would confuse her with Yukiko from the back. It's never until she sees the phone that she notices the difference. Even the face was a dead on for Chie's best friend. Though the texting girl had green eyes while Yukiko's were blue.

"Chie...?" JoJo finally said, her voice low and at a whisper. The door didn't so much as creak as JoJo leaned in, her words only reaching Chie's ears. "What did you say earlier...?"

"Not the time!" Chie hissed, leaning into the door as well. "There's a girl from our school here! She's staring right at us!"

"Sh-She didn't _see_ anything, did she!?" JoJo said, her voice rising in volume. Chie turned to the women, all boring holes into Chie as her face went red.

"I don't know," Chie admitted, turning back to the stall, "but pipe down before they start breaking down the door."

"L-Like zombies!?" JoJo gasped out, once again catching their attention.

"Where did zombies come from?" Chie asked, ignoring the strangers' growing curiosity. She tapped her foot as impatience grew.

"My top three fears..." JoJo admitted, her voice slow and sad. Chie felt the energy around her turn blue.

"Your biggest fear is zombies?" Chie asked, finding herself distracted, yet desperate for knowledge. The other women groaned at the question, realizing how long they'd have to stand there as the two had their own conversation.

"Zombies are up there, yes," JoJo explained. Her voice was far more solid and explanatory. "But they're not my biggest." She hissed after she stepped down from the toilet she stood upon, crouched down to avoid being seen from the space between the door and the ceiling.

"I'm guessing public speaking is your number one?" Chie asked, her eyes darting to the women. She did not appreciate the snide curses under the old lady's tongue, but she felt that they were unavoidable by that point. It wasn't like she could just drag JoJo out. Until Yosuke showed up with some clothes, they were dead in the water.

"No..." JoJo said simply, trailing off.

"Wait, seriously?" Chie asked, perplexed. Another mass groan echoed in the bathroom.

"Will you please just leave?" the office lady said, rubbing her eyes with slim fingers. Her voice no longer held any sympathy. Only frustration and discontent. "I have to pick my son up from school in half an hour."

"Your son?" the elderly woman said, her vision slithering towards the younger adult.. "I've been holding in a piss since noon this morning. The brat can wait a bit longer."

The girl on her phone said nothing. Her thumbs tapping wildly on her small device.

"So," Chie said, her head turning back to the stall. "What is your biggest fear?"

A large collective groan broke out once again. None of the other, rather rude women understood that JoJo leaving the stall would mean that she ended up with a public nudity charge. Chie leaned against the door, her back towards the trio.

"Promise you won't laugh...?" JoJo asked, her voice small and weak. Chie could practically hear the blush on her friend's face.

"I promise," Chie said, pressing her head against the cold surface of the stall. It was surprisingly comfortable.

"B-..." JoJo trailed off into nothing. Her meek voice slid back into its protective turtle shell. She clutched her mouth with a hand, holding her chest with the other. She was thankful that none of the others in that bathroom had X-Ray vision... at least, she hoped they didn't.

"What was it?" Chie asked, a brow raised. The mumbling of JoJo made it impossible to decipher the answer.

"Bl..." JoJo attempted once again. More of the word was revealed, but still not enough to give a clear answer. Chie huffed in frustration. She knew her friend was in a _vulnerable_ state at the moment, but the shenanigans were getting old real fast.

"One more time," Chie said, her head craning back to the others. The glares of pure hatred and malice, followed by a muttered 'Fuck you' by the office worker, made Chie regret doing this in a public setting. They should have just dragged her into the back office in hindsight. That is, if she could have gotten JoJo out without any injuries. The girl hit like a truck...

"Blondes, okay!?" JoJo declared, her voice shaking. "People with blonde hair!"

"Blondes?" Chie asked, looking to the trio. The other women looked just as confused. That answer wouldn't have made even the top one-hundred guesses she would have made. "What about blondes freak you out?"

"The Nazis had blonde hair..." JoJo said fearfully, shaking where she stood. The thought of the Empire that would last a millennium sent ice into her veins.

"So _Nazis_ are your biggest fear?" Chie clarified, rubbing her temple.

"... that would be a better answer, yes..." JoJo admitted, red on her face again.

"Why do Nazis freak you out?" Chie was beyond desperate for an answer. As long as she could find out what was wrong with JoJo, she could die happy. The scatter-brained girl in the bathroom stall was the strangest person she had ever met, and that meant quite a bit.

"My Uncle Roy always came to my birthday parties in an old SS uniform he had," JoJo explained, attracting the attention of the other women in the bathroom. They all ceased their complaining and listened in, curious as well. "And whenever he did, he would always talk about how my dad 'tainted his pure Aryan blood', and would lock me in the basement until someone else found me..."

They were all silent. Digesting the story.

"It's like peeling an onion with you..." Chie said, her eyes wide and shocked. Her mind worked at repressing all of what she had just heard.

"Onions are another fear of mine..." JoJo squeaked out.

Add that to the delete list.

"_Where is Yosuke...?_"

The door swung open. Hard, heavy breaths filled the bathroom door. Rapid footsteps brought the brown-haired boy into Chie's sights, cutting his way through the frustrated females. His hands held a bundle of clothing, confusing the others as he approached Chie.

"Hey!" he gasped out, clutching his chest with a hand. "Sorry I'm late. Had to dig through Lost and Found for a bit..."

Yosuke turned to the outsider women staring at him, all enraged and ready to kill. He raised his hands in the air, dropping the clothes to the floor. His face went white as the realization hit him.

"Whoa!" he said, his arms shot up to the sky like he was about to be arrested. "It's fine! I work here!"

The answer did nothing to help.

"I-I mean," he clawed in his mind for an answer. Sweat poured from his face as he tried to explain everything in a way that would prevent him from being found in multiple bags across several locations. He turned to Chie in desperation, who merely shrugged her shoulders, conveying that he was alone in that fight. "I-I'm just here to drop off some clothes that were stolen from this young woman!"

The teenaged girl, her eyes peeling away from her phone for a moment that felt as rare as a solar eclipse taking place at the same time as a leprechaun sex party, saw the pile on the floor, reading off what was on the shirt.

"So she bought a t-shirt that says 'Motley Crue Live in Tokyo: 1987', a pair of jean short-shorts, and a thong?"

Yosuke's world froze in place as the news hit Chie worse than he expected. He knew that an outfit that made his new friend look like one of those concert sluts would have resulted in pain. It was a necessary sacrifice he was ready to make. But the pure darkness emanating from Chie made Yosuke's bladder empty, yet turn to sand all at once.

"... slide the shirt in..." JoJo said, her tone sour, yet excited. Like a child exiting a bad mood by eating an ice cream cone.

Yosuke did just that, his eyes locked onto Chie, and his ears flooded by her wild growl, kicking the shirt and 'shorts' under the stall door.

They all stood in anticipation, waiting for JoJo to do anything. They could hear rustling from the stall, JoJo no doubt getting changed. A rhythmic humming came from the stall, like she had a song playing in her mind. It was a fast, high energy tune accompanied by JoJo's foot tapping on the floor, keeping the beat.

"Okay... I'm done," JoJo said nervously.

The stall slid open as slow as a slug. They all stared in anticipation at what they were going to see. Eyes never so much as twitched as the door opened. Even the girl on her phone took a break from the electronic crack pipe, head turned to the door.

Yosuke knew he was dead...

JoJo's faded gray t-shirt clung to her body like a latex suit. Even though he tried to guess her size, he was easily two sizes off. Her chest was all but put on display, no bra included in the emergency supply drop. Her stomach was exposed, the shirt too small to cover that area. The thong she wore was visible, the straps peaking out from her small shorts. Said shorts were _extremely _short. The entirety of her thighs were visible, only her hips and happy hole were covered by the faded denim. They fit decently, at least.

To put it lightly, she looked like a whore.

"So... how do I look?" JoJo asked, her face a bright red. Her hands were clasped tightly together, arms behind her back. The stares made her squirm, hating the three strangers that decided to check out the spectacle.

"You look like a whore," the old woman spat.

The stall door slammed back shut. The lock engaged, preventing any entry. JoJo made a high pitched whine that they guessed was her attempt at a scream. They all clutched their ears, drums assaulted by the dog whistle of a girl. The other three women couldn't handle the screech, running from the bathroom as fast as they could. Only Chie and Yosuke remained, pinned to the spot by the bird-girl's call.

"God, it's like a cicada having sex with a jackhammer!" Yosuke screamed, feeling a fluid drip from his ears. A growing roar of dog barks pierced their way into the bathroom, a collection of howls and yips that made the noise worse. JoJo's noise sank down, slowly. The noise dissipated, bringing slow relief for the two teens, and the local dogs.

Eventually, the bathroom went silent once again. Chie and Yosuke still held their ears, not trusting JoJo to not start again. Their bodies were as tense as guitar strings, waiting for some signal that the audible attack was over.

"Okay," JoJo said, the door still closed and locked. Her voice was back to normal. Sweet and pleasant to the ear. "I'm ready to go home now."

* * *

The streets were dark by the time they exited Junes. Cold wisps of air tickled their flesh as they walked. Yosuke and Chie watched JoJo, who walked ahead, like a hawk. Inaba was completely dead at night, not another soul walking down the sidewalk with them. Awkward silence dominated the air. By that point, they all just wanted to go home and get some sleep.

"So..." Yosuke said, trying to break the silence. "Today's been... interesting."

"Please stop talking," Chie said, her eyes locked in front of her.

"Come on," Yosuke argued, his face wearing that cheesy grin as always. "TV World, demons, a talking bear; it's fun!"

"Not... another... word..." JoJo hissed, stopping suddenly. Her eyes were that of a feral beast, ready to let the red flow.

"Right..."

The group split off at some point in the night. Chie, Yosuke, and JoJo took their own directions and walked away from each other. The cold air in the Inaba night made JoJo shiver, her 'outfit' no where near enough to protect her from the chill. It was only thanks to the blood rushed to her face that she found relief from the low temperature.

"_This is officially the worst day of my life..._"

Her feet scrapped against the concrete sidewalk, no shoes to stave off the cold. Every step sent a jolt of ice water up her back. The thong she wore in desperation rode up her backside, digging into her flesh. What was Yosuke thinking with that outfit? She could only sigh, realizing that she needed to find where she put her uniform when she blacked out... which she also needs to ask about. Seriously. It was really freaking her out.

"Gah!" JoJo croaked out, falling to the ground.

She rubbed her head, looking up at the dark figure she bumped into. The street light she sat under glowed like the sun in the thick blackness of the night sky. The dark silhouette turned towards her, completely submerged in darkness. JoJo's heart stopped as the creature slid closer to her. Her eyes went wide. She was like a deer in headlights.

"Watch where you're walkin'!" the rough, young voice barked. It was a male voice. The mere sound of it was like nails on a chalkboard, paralyzing JoJo to the spot.

"S-Sorry!" JoJo stammered out, too scared to leave the ground. Her body went numb as panic flooded her. After such a horrid day, it was only getting worse.

"You mind gettin' up?" he asked, still a figure in the shadows. JoJo couldn't even find the words to respond, every sentence turning to blubbering in her mouth. Her toes curled tight together, trying to distract her from the fear.

A hand extended from the darkness. It was large and intimidating. JoJo scattered away, reaching the edge of the light. She shook in place, unable to keep herself from showing her fear. The hand slunk back into the darkness. A heavy sigh drilled into JoJo's head. It was long and empty, making JoJo fear she only made the situation worse.

"Look," the man said, his tone frustrated but accepting. "Shut up, and I'll get ya on your feet."

The man entered the light, his face in full view. He was a rough looking boy, piercings on his face and nose. His black skull t-shirt was covered with a school uniform jacket that hung from his shoulders, buttons open and arms ignoring the sleeves. The boy was tall, easily matching JoJo's height. His face was contorted into a scowl, shaking JoJo further. But there was one detail that stood out to her the most.

His head of unkempt, blonde hair...

"_**Deutsche Männer, Deutsche Frauen, deutsche Jungen, deutsche Mädchen, mehr als eine Million von Ihnen sind an vielen Orten in ganz Deutschland gesammelt!**_" her mind screamed. It took all of her will power to not shriek in terror there. Her voice cracked and stuck in her throat.

"Uh... You okay?" the blonde-haired boy asked. His brow was raised at the statuesque girl, an ice statue in human form.

"ICH SPRECHE KEIN DEUTSCH!" she screamed, sending her foot to his crotch. Her voice was back in full force. Her screams echoed across the town.

The man was sent to the ground, his hands clutching his groin. He wailed in agony as JoJo's footsteps pattered off, disappearing into the night. That's what he got for being charitable...

"Please, God..." he groaned, picking himself up from the ground. His hands clutched his bruised testicles. "Make that psycho stay _far _away from me..."

His eyes spotted a small trinket on the ground. It was a tiny rabbit cellphone strap. It was bright pink, the street light clashing with the colors and pulling one's eyes to it like the focus to a painting. He sucked his teeth at the thought, picking it up from the ground. He read the name-tag on the back of the strap.

"_Kanji Tatsumi_" the boy said, placing the strap in his pocket. He rubbed the back of his neck, the pain dulling. That was a strange, _strange_ few seconds there. The chick probably saw the strap; thought he was a freak... the German felt unnecessary though. What the Hell did it even mean?

"Shit..." he said, limping his way back home.

* * *

_A/N_

So I got this done. Yay for me. If you want to find out what the German means, do a bit of homework. But don't just plug it into Google and hope for an answer! Try to go out there and meet somebody that speaks German. You can do it, I believe in you.

But yeah, this whole thing took a while to write simply due to not being able to...

I'm sorry, one moment.

***footsteps***

"_STOP EATING THE FUCKING CHIPS!_"

***footsteps***

Okay, I'm back. Sorry, had to yell at my douchebag roommate who keeps eating all the fucking Doritoes.

Anyway, now you know a bit more about JoJo. Has a thing against Germans, it seems. And didn't have the greatest first impressions with Kanji. XD

But the Motley Crue shirt is also a symbol for something... It's pretty obvious if you haven't already figured it out. And more shenanigans are afoot. They are already building...

Until Next Time!


	14. Chapter 14

_She was surrounded by blue..._

_The carpet. The seats. The lights. Even the minibar was a deep blue. _

_A gentle rumble tickled the girl's back. Groans from the engine rattled her ears._

_A young woman sat to her right, sipping from a glass of wine. Her hair was white as ash, eyes bright yellow, and lips as dark red as the wine she savored. The woman's legs were crossed as she hummed a tune to herself, making it up as she went along. The girl wanted to gag as the heavy stench of the strange woman's perfume flooded her nostrils._

"_Referring to it as a 'stench' is quite rude," the woman said, shocking the girl. Those eyes shot to the young, terrified girl._

"_I-I'm sorry!" the girl said, finally finding her voice. She looked over, trying to avoid eye contact with the blue woman, and saw an even stranger sight._

_A man with a massive nose, sitting across from the girl. His age was quite advanced, wrinkles across his face and his hair snow white. However, he held a smile that seemed like it would fit better on a small child. Large, bug-like eyes cracked open, drilling into the girl's soul far worse than the blue woman's._

_The old man held out one, withered hand._

"_Welcome... to the Velvet Room."_

* * *

JoJo's eyes cracked open.

Her head pounded like a college student after a frat party. Mouth as dry as sand. Breath as bitter as salty garbage. The light coming through the window of her bedroom was killing-

Wait.

JoJo rubbed her eyes. She lifted herself off of her futon, bones popping all the while. The familiar setting of her bedroom at Dojima's house taunted her.

"How did...?" she asked, trailing off as she got to her feet. Her long, silver hair tickled her shoulders as she walked around her room. What happened the night before? Was that all some weird dream?

Heavy pounds on her door made her jolt, nearly shrieking like a scared cat. Her eyes went wide as she snapped her head to the terrifying piece of wood.

"You up?" her uncle Dojima asked. "School's gonna be starting in an hour."

"Y-Yeah!" JoJo called out, almost instinctively.

How did she get there? It felt like half of her head was gone!

What happened after they left Junes?

Something about running into a Nazi on the way home...

"Bah," she huffed out, "I guess I just had a weird dream."

It all made sense now. That TV World, shooting lightning out of her hands, being naked in Junes, the Nazi, it was all just a really messed up dream.

"I need to stop eating takeout before bed..."

She went to her closet to grab her school uniform, and found something that made her legs turn into jelly. On the uniform, hanging in the closet as though it had always been there, was a scrap of paper with her name on it.

_For: Misako_

She recognized the handwriting immediately.

It was a note, written by... _her_.

The handwriting fit every single habit she had. The way she put little hearts for the dots of the Is. How she made Us into tiny smiley faces. Everything. Her stomach turned while reading the letter.

_**Dear Me,**_

_** If you're reading this, then you've probably blacked out and entered the world inside of the television for the first time. Izanagi, the entity controlling us at the moment, allowed enough control back to write this to explain everything when you inevitably come to. Don't worry, he's nice.**_

_** All you need to know is that you have the power to enter inside of TVs. They act as a portal between our world and theirs. Sadly, in the recent future, you're gonna have to do this a lot. Violence is gonna be on the horizon, and you can't be afraid anymore. That's asking a lot, I know, but you have your friends to help you.**_

_** They're the key to all of it. Mainly because Izanagi isn't the only voice you're gonna have in your head. And not all of these voices are gonna be looking out for you.**_

_** One in particular has to be ignored at all costs. **_

_** Izanagi told me not to explain too much, but it'll all come together soon. Just make sure not to die when you get behind the wheel again.**_

_**From,**_

_**You.**_

_**PS: **_

_**Be careful about your friends. Some of them only think about dirty things...**_

JoJo stood in her room, holding the letter in her shaking hands. Nothing about it was okay. It felt like her brain was about to explode.

"It wasn't a dream..." she said aloud, heart crushed by the realization. The shaking only got worse as she sat down on her couch, trying to catch her breath. Her mind felt like it was about to split. There was no way any of that was real. She had to have been losing it.

Her back had worms slithering down her spine. Skin itched at every pore. JoJo pressed her hands against her temple as she tried to figure out what to do.

"Breakfast is ready," Nanako said lightly, tapping on JoJo's door just as soft.

"_Guess school wouldn't be a bad starting point..._"

* * *

As she came down the steps, dressed in the back up uniform her unconscious self prepared for her, she saw the living room was empty. All that was there was a plate of bacon, toast, and a sunny-side-up egg. There was a tiny post-it note laid next to the plate. She walked over, picked up the note, and read it aloud.

"Dear, JoJo," she began, eyes running through every word, "sorry about not eating with you this morning, but I was running late. Nanako had to be at school early for a project, so we all but ran out the door. Eat up, and have a good day."

She sighed. Stress melted from her body as she was petrified about them asking about what happened the day before. Common sense screamed at her that bringing up amnesia to her uncle, especially since the only memory she had was that horrid 'outfit' she was stuck with, would have only ended badly. In fact... how did she get back home without them _seeing_ that?

"PS," she continued, blood freezing in her body at that part. "I need to talk to you about what you wore last night."

There it was.

"I hate this trip..."

* * *

JoJo felt a strange air as she walked to her seat, the classroom bustling around her, business as usual. Kids gossiped with each other; teachers could be heard in the halls, complaining about students; footsteps rocked the aged wood above JoJo, students in the upper floor ready for the daily grind. But all she could think about was that letter...

"Yo, JoJo!" Yosuke called as he entered the classroom, making the teen girl practically leap from her seat. "Geez, what's got you so wound up?" That same goofy grin was on his face, headphones blasting the new Risette song that came out the week before. Something about self-discovery or about how trade embargoes are crippling the pencil industry. JoJo could never make heads or tails what any pop song was about.

"We fought demons... in an alternate dimension..." she said, tone distant and empty.

"Yeah, that was pretty nutty."

"I shot lightning out of my hand."

"That you did," Yosuke said, nodding. He waved a hand across JoJo's face, her eyes not moving so much as a millimeter. "Hey, you okay?"

"I shot lightning..." she repeated, tone still empty.

"Riiiight..." Yosuke said. He poked JoJo's cheek with a pencil. However, she remained catatonic. "Now I feel kinda bad."

"I killed a frog..."

Yosuke turned away from JoJo, catching Chie slide her way towards them. The girl in green bit her lip as she approached. Her brow was furrowed, and she turned to the door any chance she could.

"Hey, Chie," Yosuke said, catching her off guard.

"Oh, hey," she look towards her friends, catching Yosuke's casual nature and JoJo's condition. "What's up with her?"

"No clue," Yosuke admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Are you looking for something? You seem pretty tense?"

"I killed a frog..." JoJo muttered.

"It's nothing, it's just..." Chie trailed off, looking back towards the door, "have you seen Yukiko at all today?"

"I shot lightning..." JoJo repeated.

"She didn't walk to school with you?" Yosuke asked, eyebrow raised.

"No..." Chie huffed, shoulders drooping as the realization hit her. "I haven't heard from her all day. And she always texts me if she misses school..."

"I killed a blob..."

"Huh," Yosuke said, leaning up in his seat, "that's pretty weird."

"Yeah..." Chie said, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. Sweat dripped down her face.

"What's wrong?" JoJo asked, seemingly snapped out of her catatonic condition. Her eyes remained distant, staring off into nowhere.

"It's nothing, it's just..." Chie said, waving a hand, "last night, on the Midnight Channel..."

"You watched it again?" Yosuke asked, feeling his tongue go cold.

"I don't know why, but yeah..." Chie admitted, face going red. "Around midnight, a cloudburst happened close to my house, so I checked to see if it still worked. And... I think I saw Yukiko..."

Yosuke tensed his back, gripping his chair so tight that it was mere seconds away from snapping in his hands.

"The picture was fuzzy, but she was wearing a kimono. I recognized it from the special she did on TV just a little bit earlier," Chie's tone was sad, dripping with fear and sorrow. The tiniest droplets of tears built in her eyes.

"BECAUSE I KILLED A FUCKING FROG WITH LIGHTNING!" JoJo screamed, face a deep purple.

The rest of the class stared at the scene, watching how the gray-haired girl shrieked like a maniac. Her face was buried in her hands, Yosuke and Chie sheepishly waving as the class went back to their business. However, the two could see darting eyes, trying to catch the next scene early.

"In hindsight," Yosuke began, turning back to Chie, "we need to expect this stuff when she's like this."

"Agreed," Chie said, rubbing her head, "but about Yukiko..."

"Did you try calling the inn?" JoJo said, face still covered by her hands. Her tone was more lively, sweeter, and no longer disturbed. Her head felt like a nuclear reactor, skin a bright pink at the realization that she made an ass of herself.

"I was gonna do it after school," Chie admitted, biting her bottom lip once again. "But the whole Midnight Channel thing is really weighing on me."

Before either of the two could react, Chie had her phone out, number dialed, and pressed tight against her ear. They could only guess that she wanted someone else to offer the idea before she actually went and did it.

"Uh... hello?" Chie said, the conversation one-sided for Yosuke and JoJo. Her eyes went bright at getting an answer. "Is Yukiko there?"

JoJo slid her hands from her face. She watched as Chie's face exploded into a look of pure joy. Her smile was a mile wide, at least.

"Guess she picked up," Yosuke said, shrugging his shoulders. He had to admit, he felt a knot in his gut loosen at the news. Something prodded his back, light taps against his shoulder blade. His head spun around to see JoJo, who's face was bright red, apprehension clear all around.

"What was that about Yukiko being on TV?" she asked, hands shaking as she wrung them, fingers failing to clasp each other. A light layer of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"You didn't see?" Yosuke asked, curling his lips. "She did an interview for her inn. It was basically on every channel, dude..."

"I had a weird night..." JoJo said slowly, staring down at her desk. If she were perfectly honest, she couldn't remember anything about that night. It was all a huge blank. But something tugged at her, telling her not to let anyone know.

"Geez, Yosuke!" Chie called out, shoving her phone back in her pocket. "You almost made me freak out for nothing!"

"Was she there?" JoJo asked, snapping onto the new conversation before a brown-haired rat asked any questions.

"Yeah," Chie said casually, taking a seat in a desk next to the duo. "Apparently it's super busy back home, so she had to help out."

"That's good to hear," Yosuke said, cracking a cheesy grin. "But that does bring up something weird..."

"Like how that whole place even works to begin with?" JoJo asked, feeling like she was trying to comprehend what the Octo-Spiders were saying through their system of various colors.

"_Fuck you, Arthur C. Clarke is amazing..._" JoJo thought to herself, feeling a judgmental wave hit her.

"Yeah," Yosuke said, making JoJo go white in the face, convinced he was a mind reader for several moments. "I mean, I thought that's how it was, showing us people already in there. That's how it worked for the last two, right?"

"I thought it did," Chie admitted, nodding her head, brow furrowed. Her mind went a mile a minute trying to comprehend the whole situation. "How else would they show up then?"

"Right?" Yosuke asked, wrapping his arms around his chest. "It makes sense, right? They show up on the TV because they're _in _the TV."

"But Yukiko is still here," JoJo said, wrapped into the mystery. She hummed to herself as she thought on it. That place was so weird and alien that pretty much _anything _went there. She shot lightning out of her hand!

"I don't think this is the best place to talk about all this," Chie said, taking note of the curious eyes and ears still trained on them after JoJo's outburst.

"Meet up at Junes after school?" Yosuke asked, noticing more eyes snapping to them when they thought they could get away with it.

"Agreed," they all said at once.

* * *

Rain poured down like a tidal wave flowing through a salt shaker. Dark, gray clouds hung heavy in the sky. What started off as a moderately cloudy day turned into a downpour. The drops of rain were as large as coconuts. Despite the umbrella, JoJo had trouble keeping herself dry as she walked through the floodplains.

Her shoes clacked against the wet asphalt, humming to herself once again. She couldn't even name the song she was thinking of, only that she was singing it. Visibility was cut down to mere inches in front of her. The only thing she could see was a figure sitting underneath the gazebo off to her left side.

"Wait..." she said to herself, catching the head of raven black hair. JoJo walked to the gazebo, seeing a familiar girl in a bright pink kimono. "Yukiko?"

The girl in question rested on the seat the gazebo offered; a cheap, wooden table like one in a cafeteria in an elementary school. Yukiko rubbed her feet as she sat, sore from her traditional shoes and fighting the elements.

"Oh... hey," Yukiko said, looking up to see JoJo. "Sorry, I didn't notice you there. I'm just resting."

"H-Have you been moving around a lot today?" JoJo asked, a slight stammer leaking into her voice. She couldn't push past the fact that she didn't know her as well as Chie and Yosuke.

"Yes," Yukiko admitted with a sigh. "I had to run some errands for the inn." Her kimono had wet spots where she clearly didn't get out of the rain quick enough. It didn't look like her small, red umbrella was much help.

The two stayed in an awkward silence as they both tried to find a talking point. It was a mental battle neither wanted to fight, but did anyway. Rain assaulted their ears as it clattered off the metal roof of the gazebo.

"So..." Yukiko said, breaking the silence. "How do you like living here so far?"

"O-Oh!" JoJo squeaked out, heart jolted from the shattered silence. "I-It's been... nice."

"I know Chie likes you," Yukiko said, a small smile on her face. "She talks about you and Yosuke a lot. I was worried because she has that type of personality that intimidates a lot of other girls."

"I don't mind her," JoJo said, taking a seat next to Yukiko. Her head was well above Yukiko's, making JoJo hiss at herself once again. She hated her height. "My brother has the same personality. He drove my parents insane."

"Sounds like it," Yukiko giggled, raising one of her sleeves to laugh in her hand. "But I'm happy you like it here. A lot of transfer students complain about not having anything to do."

"Well..." JoJo said, feeling her face go red. "I-If I'm being perfectly honest, I-I'm kind of here a-as a... punishment..."

Yukiko raised an eyebrow. There was no way that JoJo, a girl that would have lost a fight to a _fly_ was enough of a troublemaker to warrant being sent there, was she?

"I-I feel like I can say this, since you're family is similar to mine..." JoJo continued, eyes filled with desperation. Desperation for Yukiko to confirm her assertion. "B-But my family is... pretty wealthy..."

"Oh, that's nice," Yukiko said, happy to learn about her new friend. "How did they make their money?"

"I'm not really sure," JoJo admitted. Half of the truth wasn't a _total lie_, right? A small fortune is better for them to think about compared to... well... "All I know is that my parents didn't want me to be a total shut-in, so they sent me here."

"A shut in?" Yukiko asked, still curious to learn more. The idea that JoJo was a shut in wasn't too shocking, now that she thought about it.

"Y-Yeah..." JoJo's face went red again. "At school, I would be picked on a lot for being rich, so I never wanted to go. I _hated _being wealthy." JoJo thought back to how often she dealt with the 'kick me' signs or the teasing by the other children during middle school. "So my daddy sent me out here for the year, and I'm not supposed to use any money in my bank account."

Yukiko nodded, thinking on the words that JoJo said.

"Daddy?" Yukiko asked, puzzled by the wording.

JoJo's face turned purple at the realization of what she said. That was so embarrassing...

"So how much money do you have anyway?" Yukiko asked, moving away from the subject that clearly made JoJo uncomfortable.

"Close to 2.3 billion, actually," JoJo said without a second thought.

They both sat in silence. Yukiko's mouth agape.

"_Oh crap!-_"

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Yukiko shrieked.

* * *

_A/N_

Hey...

Yeah, I'm back...

The story I'm going with is that I was being held in a North Korean prison camp, forced to write communist propaganda. And I will not budge on that.

But yeah, life blind sided me. Will definitely make more updates, now that I have the time.

Nothing is gonna die, don't worry.

Until Next Time!


End file.
